NEW DELHI: The government has established 819 Anti-Human Trafficking Units (AHTUs) across states and Union territories, with the Centre urging authorities to strengthen inter-state coordination to combat trafficking across the country, the Union Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) informed the Rajya Sabha on Wednesday.
Minister of State (MoS) for Home Affairs Bandi Sanjay Kumar said that the primary responsibility for preventing and combating human trafficking rests with state and UT governments, as “Police” and “Public Order” fall under the State List. But the Ministry supports state efforts through advisories and coordination measures, he added.
The MHA has asked states and UTs to establish mechanisms for effective inter-state coordination and promote greater convergence among government departments and other stakeholders for handling trafficking cases, the Minister said.
According to the latest National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) report, Crime in India 2024, states and UTs have set up 819 AHTUs, including 44 in Bihar, the Minister informed.
The Centre has also been supporting capacity-building efforts by helping states and UTs organise conferences and judicial colloquiums aimed at sensitising police personnel and law officers to recent developments and initiatives concerning human trafficking, Kumar said, while answering the question.
The Bureau of Police Research and Development (BPR&D), through its field units, has conducted specialised training programmes for personnel attached to AHTUs in states and UTs, he noted.
The government has further advised authorities to make wider use of the Crime and Criminal Tracking Network and Systems (CCTNS) and the Crime Multi Agency Centre (Cri-MAC) to share information on serious offences, including trafficking, the Minister said.
“Cri-MAC enables police authorities across states and UTs to exchange information on significant crimes in real time, helping facilitate faster inter-state coordination and response in human trafficking cases,” Kumar said, adding that the Centre’s measures underline the need for coordinated policing and information-sharing, given that trafficking networks frequently operate across state boundaries.