Anti Human Trafficking Unit of Manipur (AHTUM) police have rescued two minor girls, aged around 16 years, from being trafficked to Singapore Monday from Imphal Airport.

Police also nabbed the accused identified as A. John Maheo (52) son of Ashuli of Kaibi village of Senapati district presently residing at Imphal’s Dewlahland area.

According to police sources, AHTUM led by sub-inspector Y Kheda detected and detained the two girls at Imphal Airport when they were about to board a flight.

During an enquiry, the team came to know that the two girls were taken to Dewlahand, before taking to Imphal Airport for onward transportation to Singapore.

Sources said Maheo through a Singapore based agency, Charisha Employment Agency, lured the girls on the pretext of providing jobs in Singapore. The girls would have been forced into immoral activities, the sources added. 

Maheo admitted that he had arranged all the required documents—passport, visa etc. by manipulating their real age.
A case has been registered where Maheo has been charged for attempting to traffic children for illicit purpose by cheating and luring their parents and guardians with lucrative jobs under section 366-A/240/511 of IPC read with section 26 of Juvenile Justice (Care & Protection of Children) Act.

The two girls were later handed over to chairperson of Child Welfare Committee, Imphal West district, who would later hand over to the parents.

Manipur has been a soft target for the human trafficking. Data of 2010 indicates that as many as 139 trafficked children from Manipur were rescued from various illegal children’s home in Chennai and Bangalore.

In 2011, 60 children were trafficked from North East region to different unrecognized children homes in various parts of the country.