‘Anti-trafficking bill now more victim-centric’

NEW DELHI: The revised draft of the long awaited anti-trafficking bill has sent to the the group of ministers, headed by home minister Amit Shah with the ministry of women and child development claiming that it is “victim-centric” and more focussed on issues than the earlier version that was passed in Lok Sabha in 2018 amidst a heated debate.
The bill could not be introduced in Rajya Sabha and hence lapsed when the lower House was dissolved before the 2019 elections. TOI had reported in March that in its latest version, the bill sought to propose steep penalties and “mandatory reporting” of crimes against minors, which makes it an offence if a person has knowledge of a misdeameanour but withholds it from the authorities.
Only after the GoM’s approval, the bill will go to Cabinet for clearance before being tabled in Parliament. The draft law also seeks to rein in organised trafficking syndicates targeting minors. It also proposes to maintain a national database on trafficking offences and victims, sources said.