MHA asks states to fast-track setting up of AHTUs

New Delhi, July 15: The Ministry of Home Affairs has written to the states to expedite the setting up of new anti-human-trafficking units (AHTU) and also upgrade the infrastructure of the existing ones.

These units are an integrated task force that prevents and combats human trafficking.

The police, department of women and child development are part of this unit. It may be recalled that these units were first established in 2007.

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The Centre provides financial assistance to set up these units, while the responsibility of the state to depute manpower and manage them.

It may be recalled that nearly Rs 100 crore was released from the Nirbhaya fund in March by the government to set up these units in districts across the country. Currently there are 330 AHTUs in the country. These work as convergence centres for the MHA, Ministry of Women and Child Development, Labour and External Affairs to fight human trafficking within India as well as outside it.

Hindustan Times while quoting the advisory said, "domestic violence, emotional or psychological abuse, neglect and other forms of trauma and violence makes a person vulnerable to human trafficking."

"Because children can be transported at a large scale for wage labour, prostitution and trafficking, panchayats may be asked to maintain a register of complete information about the persons living in the village and a keep track of their movement," the advisory also said.