External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj on Thursday said the agent who trafficked 39 Indians to Iraq three years ago was still running his business. She requested state women commissions to take action against such illegal agents across the country, reported PTI. The minister was addressing a national conference on state women commissions.

In March, Swaraj had told Parliament that the 39 Indians, who were kidnapped by the Islamic State in Mosul, had been killed.

Swaraj said passing the anti-trafficking bill was a very good step but its impact would not be completely felt till the network of such illegal agents was active. “Young boys are trafficked from Mumbai who say they are being sent to different merchant ships as crew members, but in reality they are being sent for smuggling, and when they get arrested in other countries it becomes very difficult to rescue them,” she said.

Advertisement

Swaraj said people should only employ the services of authorised government agents. “The ministry has all the information of people who go through government authorised agents and we know who is the employer,” she said. “So in case of any unforseen incident, we have an agent responsible for them.”

The minister said state commissions should identify illegal agents, give their names to the respective chief ministers, and ask them to take action against them. “Half of the problem would be solved if such agents are identified and a crackdown is launched against them,” said Swaraj.

On Thursday, the Lok Sabha passed the Trafficking of Persons (Prevention, Protection and Rehabilitation) Bill, 2018, which aims to prevent trafficking of persons, especially women and children. It seeks to provide care, protection and rehabilitation to the victims of trafficking, to prosecute offenders, and to create an environment conducive to the victims.