30 pregnant minors missing from alleged trafficker Chandana Chakraborty’s shelter home post delivery, claims CID

The show-cause notice was slapped after locals complained about irregularities in registering movement of minor girls to and from the home.

KOLKATA: West Bengal Crime Investigation Department (CID) has claimed that as many as 30 pregnant minors, who were given shelter at school teacher-turned-alleged trafficker Chandana Chakraborty’s shelter home ‘Ashray’ in Jalpaiguri in north Bengal over the past one year, are missing since their deliveries.

CID has claimed that during interrogation, ‘Ashray’ staffers revealed that 30 pregnant minors were brought into the shelter home during the 6th or 7th month of their respective pregnancies over the past one year. However, after deliveries, the girls and their newborn babies were not seen anymore. No documented evidence has been found that may lead to the whereabouts of the 30 pregnant girls or their babies, including their names.

Six girls, two of whom were pregnant, were rescued from the same shelter home during a CID raid on Wednesday night. During the raid, nine girls whose names were mentioned in the register were found missing. Also, several names were found repeated, which gave rise to suspicion that many more girls may be missing from the shelter home.

“According to guidelines, shelter homes ought to keep every detail of destitute pregnant women whom they provide shelter. The procedures become even more complex when the mother is a minor. However, Ashray did not keep any track record of the minors which gives rise to suspicion that they might have been trafficked after being separated from their newborn babies who again, might have been separately trafficked in the name of adoption,” a CID official told New Indian Express.

“The staffers have also claimed that when they protested against the irregularities in terms of maintenance of records of the pregnant minors, Chandana threatened to sack them,” the official added. CID officials have also found involvement of at least six foreign nationals in the trafficking racket. However, their identity and whereabouts are yet to be ascertained.

Meanwhile, two minor boys were arrested and kept in juvenile home for alleged rape of the minor girl who was found impregnated and abandoned at a shelter home in Sukhiapokhri near Indo-Nepal border in Darjeeling district of West Bengal. The two minors –aged 16 and 14 – were arrested by Darjeeling police from the border town on Friday night. According to sources, a Nepalese national was running the home illegally for over three years. The police fear that the accused Nepalese woman may have taken shelter in the neighbouring country along with 18 missing minor girls.

On the other hand, the West Bengal Social Welfare Department issued a show-cause notice to a shelter home run by Kalpana Burman, wife of former Trinamool Congress minister and present MLA Hiten Burman, at Mathabhanga in Coochbehar district of north Bengal on Saturday for irregularities in maintenance of records and for not having a licence to run the home.

The show-cause notice was slapped after locals complained about irregularities in registering movement of minor girls to and from the home. District officials have claimed that though the shelter home ‘Matri Ashray’ is registered, it does not have a licence. The shelter home has been asked to get a licence or risk getting sealed. According to sources, 12 minor girls of the age 6-16 reside in the home.

Meanwhile, several NGOs in Alipurduar district of north Bengal have alleged that more than 100 children aged between 9-14 were trafficked from the poverty-stricken tea gardens of the district and sold as domestic help in neighbouring state Sikkim. Alipurduar Child Welfare Officer Lalkamal Chakraborty told media that they have received the combined report of the NGOs about the massive child trafficking racket and have begun probe.

“Over the past one year, NGOs in the district along with police assistance have rescued some 25 children who were trafficked from Raidak, Kartika, Chuniajhora, Panbari and Jayanti tea estates. We fear the children may be facing slavery-like treatment in the name of domestic work,” Raktim Basu, convenor of a local NGO told New Indian Express.

Meanwhile, it is also being probed whether there are any connections between the trafficking racket of alleged kingpin Chandana Chakraborty and the tea garden racket alleged by the NGOs of Alipurduar district.

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