Sundarban (Bengal): It has been more than five years since Tumpa’s* mother Arati* last saw her. Tumpa, a resident of Dakshinpara on Bali Island in Sundarban, left for school one morning never to return. Her room still holds remnants of her life – kurtas, an old science book, and expired cosmetics.
“I carried her in my womb for nine months. How can I lose hope now?” Arati asks. “I still don’t know if she was taken by wild animals or human predators. Only god knows,” Arati adds.
There are many like Arati on Bali Island comprising 15 villages under the Gosaba community block with a population of around 37,000. Located just outside the Sundarban tiger reserve, it is the entry point for tourists visiting the Sundarban delta, known for its distinctive mangroves, diverse flora and fauna, and bird sanctuaries. However, Bali Island lacks bustle. While there are a handful of eco-resorts, the livelihoods of the island’s inhabitants are primarily rooted in rain-fed agriculture, fisheries, honey collection, and activities such as fishing and catching crabs. The island is cut off from the mainland of West Bengal and remains entirely isolated, with no road or alternative means of connectivity apart from water transport.
Stories like Tumpa’s are common in almost every village, involving both girls and sometimes boys. In an area already struggling with widespread poverty, the unmonitored riverine expanses of the Sundarban and surroundings have become happy hunting grounds for traffickers. Local activist Soumitra Mondal, who runs the ‘Nonadwiper Pathshala’ (School of Salt Island) in the island to educate children about trafficking, reports at least 12 recent cases of girls going missing in his village.
“We have been trying to make them aware of the danger of addictions that have cast a spell on the island. This is not an addiction to smoking or narcotics – but the promise of better lives or jobs or marriages. We have got some success – it’s a large island and we are just a small organisation with limited resources,” said Soumita who had received an award from the Vice President of India for his work during the pandemic.
The issue of trafficking and the disappearance of women has been a longstanding concern, but the challenges for authorities have become more complex due to the pandemic. They also cite climate change and the growth of smartphone usage.
“Schools were closed for almost two years forcing us to buy our children smartphones. How do we know whether they’re using it to study or engage in activities which can lead them to fall victim to such practices? I bought my daughter a phone to help her prepare for exams. But one day, she simply disappeared with her sister,” Nitai Naskar from Minakhan block in the North 24 Parganas region of the Sundarban says.
His daughters went out to buy cosmetics from a village fair in April this year. They never came back.
Women fish along the coast of the Bidyadhari river in the Sundarbans, West Bengal. The area is witness to coast erosion, among other climate related problems. Photo: Photo: Ryan Rozario and Pawanjot Kaur
Two years ago, when a father lodged a complaint at Jibantala Police Station in South 24 Parganas about his daughter’s disappearance, the police investigation led to the arrest of a placement agency owner and his wife. Last year, the state police busted the alleged kingpin who worked with the placement agency to traffic over 2,000 girls in the Sundarban and the surrounding areas in South 24 Parganas. The children were purchased from the local contacts for Rs 5,000 each. Most of the cases went unreported to the police.
About four years ago, on a winter morning, Dasharath Mondal’s daughter disappeared. In the next few months, he frantically searched for her in the homes of relatives and friends but did not report the incident to the police fearing social ostracisation. But one cannot say that his daughter is ‘missing’.
The father of two explains, “My daughter has been working outside for four years. Last year, she returned home for seven days, contributed money to house repairs, and took her younger sister with her. She looks different now – and is well-dressed. We have no idea where she works or lives. Even if we ask, she doesn’t specify, only says she is happy with her work.”
A police officer from the special cell handling trafficking in the district recounted an incident involving a teenager named Fatima. She was trafficked to Kashmir, made to work as a sex worker and managed to flee to Delhi but was then ‘sold’ for Rs 40,000 to another man from Rajasthan. Her name was changed to Nandini, as per the wishes of her new ‘owner’, said police. When police rescued her, she chose to go back to the man who ‘purchased’ her in Rajasthan. She cited financial stability.
Between 2019 to 2021, the number of missing children in West Bengal increased by 22 %, rising from 8,205 to 9,996, whereas the national increase was 6% (from 73,138 to 77,535). During the pandemic, around 100,000 adult women in Bengal, aged 18 and above, went missing in 2020 and 2021. Only 44,000 have been located so far, leaving over 50,000 still unaccounted for. While the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) data ranks West Bengal 10th in human trafficking, with a slight increase from 27 cases in 2020 to 29 in 2021, the ground reality gives a grim picture. Many activists we spoke to highlight underreporting. Even when cases are reported to the police, a significant number omit the crucial aspect of trafficking.
Dearah Association for Social and Humanitarian Action, popularly known as ‘Asha NGO’ has been on the child protection in the bordering blocks along the Indo-Bangladesh border and the Sundarbans. Sanjeev Singh, the secretary of the organisation, narrates a case where a dance group, registered under the Societies Registration Act, acts as a front for trafficking. Young women are often offered respectable jobs at the outset but then go missing.
“Families find it challenging to decide on filing the complaint as their daughters, regardless of the nature of their work, send them substantial amounts of money every month. The dynamics of trafficking has changed in the last 10 years,” says Sanjeev.
In the narrow lanes of Netaji Palli in Jagaddal, North 24 Parganas, Sanjoy Das is still grappling with the pain of losing his daughter. Fourteen-year-old Nandita was a fierce volleyball player and a student at the nearby Aatpur Girls School. She wanted a good smartphone that her daily wage-earning father, Sanjay, could not afford. To earn pocket money for her goal, Nandita used to work part-time. One morning, she mysteriously disappeared.
Sanjoy reported the case to the police. During the investigation, he was informed that his daughter’s body was found in Siwan. It was revealed that she had joined an orchestra and catering firm in Bihar, where she was shot dead. Sanjoy says he has not received her death certificate or autopsy report.
Representative image of women who remain on the island after the men migrate take shelter in a stilt house during floods. Photo: Sayanti Sengupta
“We were against her involvement in catering work. I heard that my daughter was shot and killed during a wedding function where she went to work. The local police station says that the mention of death due to the shooting will be in the autopsy report. Only then will the matter of arresting the criminals be considered. The Bihar government is expected to send us Rs 5 lakh as compensation and a death certificate. I still haven’t received anything,” says Sanjay.
In the North 24 Parganas, many speak of the tradition of hiring dancers for parties. Many of those hired are underage. Police officials working in this field also point out the tacit approval of many families who want the additional income.
“Women engaged in catering or dance groups for weddings are all becoming part of this cycle of crime. Sometimes, even when recharging your mobile phone at a shop, your number can be leaked to crime rackets. Initially, there are missed calls, then regular contact, and finally, they are lured with lucrative offers to disappear,” says a police official from North 24 Parganas.
Former senior police officer Sukhendu Hira also speaks of such methods. Hira says there are some age-old ways young women are trafficked: they are given work or married off or lured with promises of love.
Local acquaintances in the area are also noted to facilitate trafficking. These criminal activities often go unreported due to families’ struggles with poverty.
“Even the victims often become a part of the recruitment racket,” another police officer says.
*Names changed on request.