PANAJI
Goa's police registered 126 cases and rescued 258 trafficked victims in the five years between 2018 and 2022 but has had poor success in the prosecution of those behind these horrific human trafficking rackets.
As many as 142 cases (some from years prior to 2018) were investigated and charge-sheeted in courts in these five years but only three of these cases ended in convictions, according to data contained in a reply furnished by the Central Woman and Child Ministry to Parliament.
However, the number of cases steadily declined each year with 55 cases In 2018, 38 cases in 2019 and just 17 in the Covid-hit 2020.
The cases further declined to 15 cases in 2021 and to just a solitary one case of human trafficking in 2022.
In eleven cases, the investigations by the police hit a dead end, leading to filing of 'A' or 'B' final reports in these cases, the data reveals.
Also, a total of 258 trafficked victims were rescued in all of these 126 cases registered in the 2018-22 five year period.
