Guwahati, May 28: The anti-human trafficking units of police in the Northeast, including Sikkim, today received a "software push" to track trafficking victims and improve their network.
Impulse NGO Network, a Shillong-based group working for rescue and rehabilitation of trafficking victims, engaged SpeecHWareNet (I) Private Ltd, an IT firm and technology incubation centre of IIT Guwahati, to develop the ICIC software.
By logging into the software platform, police officers in the anti-human trafficking units will be able to share information and statistics related to trafficking cases and those involved in the crime.
The software was handed over to police in the eight states free of cost at a function at the Guwahati police commissionerate office here today.
"Human trafficking is a serious issue in the entire Northeast but we have observed that the anti-human trafficking units of the police do not have a proper case management system and method to share information for quick action. This software will fill up that void. It will enable our police officers to share information about criminals involved in such crimes with their counterparts in the region without compromising the security and secrecy of investigation. No one in the anti-human trafficking units will be able to access the software platform without permission from their nodal officers," said Hasina Kharbhih, who chairs the board of Impulse NGO Network.
She said the NGO used the $1,000, which it had won as silver prize in the Japanese Award for Most Innovative Development Project in 2011 (a competitive grant given to NGOs), to develop the software and to train police and government officials tackling human trafficking cases.
A two-day training programme for the police personnel of the units on how to operate the software began here today.
"We are in touch with the Union ministry of home affairs for offering the software to states outside the region as human trafficking is also a serious issue in many states of the country," Kharbhih said.
Additional director-general of police (railway) Bhaskar Jyoti Mahanta expressed concern over many girls falling prey to human traffickers after they go out of the region for jobs. "We must lay more emphasis on proper rehabilitation of such victims," he said.
Additional director-general of police (Assam CID) Mukesh Kumar Sahay, Guwahati police commissioner Jyotirmay Chakravarty, Ashok Damle of Plan International, Miguel Das Queah, the chairperson of Utsah, an NGO, among others attended the function.
