NIA to investigate 38 Sri Lankans nabbed in human trafficking scam in Mangaluru
Mangaluru, Jul 24: The case relating to the detention of 38 Sri Lankan nationals last month for staying illegally in the country has been handed over to the National Investigation Agency (NIA), a senior police officer said on Saturday.
City police commissioner N Shashi Kumar stated this on the sidelines of a function here.
As many as 38 Sri Lankan nationals were detained under Mangaluru south police station limits for their illegal stay in the country on June 11.
They had entered Tamil Nadu illegally from Sri Lanka, reached Mangaluru in May and had stayed at two lodges and two houses, claiming to be daily wage and coolie workers and fishermen from Tamil Nadu.
They had left Sri Lanka on March 17 by paying Rs six lakh to Rs 10 lakh in Sri Lankan Rupees to an agent in the country, who had promised them jobs in Canada.
A case was later filed under relevant IPC sections for human trafficking, cheating, under Passport Act 1967, Foreigners Act 1945 and Foreigners Order 1948.
Shashi Kumar told reporters that the case has been handed over to the NIA as per the orders of the Union Home ministry.
Police have formed a team to assist a DSP-rank NIA officer, and as per the order, local police will help provide all logistics and other support needed for the probe.
The file has already been handed over to the officer of the NIA, the commissioner said.
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Organisation urges Centre to set up National Widows' Rights Commission
Mumbai (PTI): A Maharashtra-based voluntary organisation has appealed to the Union Ministry of Women and Child Development to establish an independent National Widows' Rights Commission to address "systemic and lifelong injustices".
Mahatma Phule Samaj Seva Mandal (MPSSM) said widowed women in India face social ostracisation, denial of property and inheritance rights, economic insecurity, psychological trauma, and heightened sexual vulnerability.
These issues are not adequately addressed by existing institutional mechanisms, it said.
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In its representation to the ministry, the organisation stated that despite Constitutional guarantees of equality and dignity under Articles 14, 15 and 21, there is no exclusive statutory body that focuses specifically on the unique and long-term vulnerabilities of widows.
The proposal notes that while women's commissions function at the national and state levels, their broad mandate limits focused attention on widows' issues, leading to gaps in grievance redressal, monitoring and accountability.
Calling widowed women a "structurally vulnerable group" comparable to other constitutionally recognised categories, MPSSM has proposed the creation of National and State Widows' Rights Commissions with the power to inquire into complaints, summon reports from police and administrative authorities, and make time-bound recommendations, including registration of FIRs and legal action where required.
It demanded that the commission be empowered to suggest rehabilitation measures, financial assistance schemes and amendments to existing laws, and submit annual reports to Parliament or state legislatures.
MPSSM president Pramod Zinjade said the establishment of a dedicated Widows' Rights Commission was a "constitutional necessity and moral obligation" to restore dignity, security and human rights of widowed women and to eliminate regressive social practices.
Zinjade said he has also written to the United Nations seeking the establishment of an International Widows' Rights Commission (IWRC).
He has been leading a campaign in rural Maharashtra to eradicate evil customs related to widows. Several villages have passed unanimous resolutions banning such customs.
