India News | Two Sentenced to 14 Years in Jail for Trafficking Minors

Jaipur, Apr 19 (PTI) A special court here has sentenced two men to 14 years of rigorous imprisonment for trafficking of minors.

A court for Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act on April 16 also imposed a fine of Rs 5.64 lakh on each of the culprit Mohammed Qudus and Mohammed Yunus.

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Special judge Tara Agarwal observed that both the accused had violated the rights of the children and forced them into child labour.

Another accused Mohammed Shamshad died during the trial and hence charges against him were abated while Hasmul Miyan was acquitted, as per the court order received on Tuesday.

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Physical and mental cruelty towards children and forcing them into child labour was a heinous offence, Public Prosecutor Rakesh Mehrishi said.

In 2018, Bachpan Bachao Andolan (BBA) activists along with the police and Anti-Human Trafficking Unit haD conducted a raid on a house in Shastri Nagar, Jaipur, and rescued 33 minor children.

The rescued children were trafficked from Bihar and were forced to work.

An FIR was registered against the four accused under various sections of the IPC, Juvenile Justice Act and Child Labour Act.

BBA Director Manish Sharma said that stringent punishment is the only deterrent for such heinous crimes.

"We hope that the union government passes the anti-trafficking bill in the upcoming session of the Parliament," he added.

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)