Cops trained to shield kids, curb human trafficking
Source: Chronicle News Service / R Lester Makang
Ukhrul, March 14 2024:
Project Mukti, an anti-human trafficking initiative, teamed up with the police of Ukhrul and Kamjong districts to capacitate the police in preventing and effectively investigating cases of human trafficking and child sexual abuse.
Towards this end, a one-day training programme for the police, supported by ECPAT Luxembourg, was held at the Police Reserve Line in Ukhrul town on Thursday.
Altogether 52 officers from across 11 Police Stations, including Anti-Human Trafficking Units (AHTUs) in both districts, participated in the training.
Ukhrul additional superintendent of police (Operations) Ringthing Hongchui, and Project Mukti project officer A Wungreiso Shangh attended the event as resource persons.
Ukhrul ASP (Law and Order) Josiah Pamei was also in attendance.
In his speech, Hongchui delved into the various mechanisms and steps that Police or Investigation Officers should follow when investigating crimes, particularly those related to human trafficking and POCSO cases.
He emphasised the importance of preparing a comprehensive charge sheet in a timely and efficient manner, as well as the need to shift from a criminal-centric to a victim-centric approach.
Hongchui also addressed the prevalence of cybercrimes and the need for local police stations to be equipped to handle and solve them.
He provided training to the attending officers on how to effectively tackle cybercrimes, highlighting their increasing prevalence in society.
During the programme, Wungreiso Shangh shed light on the legal provisions and role of police as mentioned in the rules of Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act, 2015 and Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act, 2012.He also discussed the issue of crimes against children, particularly in the context of child sexual abuse.
Shangh delved into various aspects of human trafficking, including its definition, inter-sectionalities, and the measures in place to prevent and protect victims of trafficking.
To help the officials understand the severity of this issue, a short film titled 'Annie' was also screened as part of the programme.
The training also involved a pre-training and post training tests to assess the knowledge of the police officers on the training topics and what they have learned after the training.
Project Mukti is being implemented in the state since 2015 and till date the project has been able to train more than 2000 law enforcement officials including paramilitary forces in the state.