NHRC issues notices to states, UTs over women being 'forced' into sex trade by anti-social elements
NHRC has issued notices to the chief secretaries and the police chief of all the states and union territories over reports that women are allegedly being forced into sex trade by anti-social elements on the pretext of providing them with lucrative job opportunities. In a statement on Friday, the National Human Rights Commission observed the content of a news report quoting statements by women arrested during a raid, if true, raises a serious concern relating to the life, liberty, equality and dignity of women, irrespective of caste, religion and geographical boundaries.
«The media report, carried on July 1, indicates that most of the arrested women during a raid at a hotel in Ranchi, Jharkhand, got into sex trade out of compulsion and helplessness. Many of them were pushed into this web by their relatives and some of them were forced to enter into this ugly business to fulfil the needs of their families and could not come out of the vicious network of anti-social elements once got into their grip,» it said.
The news report indicates that the victim women are natives of different places, «trapped in the name of a job» and their handlers are reportedly operating from distant locations. This indicates the «depth of the crime syndicate» across the country, which requires a pan-India action against such criminal elements, the statement said.
The NHRC, after taking suo motu cognisance of the media report, issued notices to the chief secretaries and the director generals of police of all the states and UTs, seeking a
