Must fight against 'ecosystem of human trafficking: PM Modi on issue of illegal immigrants
Washington (PTI): Prime Minister Narendra Modi has asserted the need to fight against the “ecosystem” of human trafficking that lures people from ordinary families with big dreams and promises and brought to other countries as illegal immigrants.
This is not a question about India only but is a global issue, Modi said in response to a question by PTI on the issue of illegal immigration during a joint press conference with US President Donald Trump in the White House here on Thursday.
He said, “We are of the opinion that anybody who enters and lives in another country illegally, they have absolutely no legal right or authority to live in that country.”
Modi added that as far as India and the US are concerned, “we have always said that those who are verified Indian citizens and who are living in the US illegally, India is prepared to take them back.”
“However, for us, the issue doesn't stop there. These are children of very ordinary families, and they are lured by big dreams and promises,” he said, adding that a lot of them are being led astray and misguided by the human traffickers.
“That is why we must fight against the whole human trafficking ecosystem,” Modi said adding that it is the endeavour, and should remain so, of both the US and India that together we have to uproot and destroy this entire ecosystem so that human trafficking is ended and removed.
He said this is injustice for those poor people who sell everything and they are lured with big dreams and are brought to another country as illegal immigrants.
“Our bigger fight is against this ecosystem and I am confident that President Trump will also fully support India in ending this ecosystem,” Modi said.
Later, in response to a question by PTI on the deportation of illegal immigrants from the US and whether the issue of the way they were brought back to India in a military aircraft and shackled was raised during Modi's meeting with Trump, Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri said: “Yes, it (issue of illegal immigration) did figure during the discussions today."
"During the discussions, the Prime Minister said that India has made its stand very clear that if there are illegal immigrants proven to be Indian citizens in any country abroad, we will take them back," Misri said.
Misri added that Modi did emphasise during the discussions that the return of illegal immigrants is not the end of the story.
"There is an ecosystem that thrives on this racket and that promotes and enables this racket, and it is the responsibility of both countries to do something about this.
"And in that, he sought the cooperation of the United States in finding out more details about these rackets, and if need be through institutional cooperation between the law enforcement authorities and intelligence organizations of the two countries to actually try and do something about these ecosystems that enable this particular phenomenon. So this is something that the two sides will continue to discuss,” Misri said.
A US military aircraft carrying 104 illegal immigrants from various states landed in Amritsar in Punjab earlier this month, the first such batch of Indians deported by the Trump government as part of a crackdown against illegal immigrants.
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Two arrested in K'taka for assaulting minors, uploading CSAM content
Bengaluru (PTI): Two men were arrested for allegedly sexually assaulting two minor girls, recording the acts on mobile phones and uploading the videos online as child sexual abuse material, police said on Thursday.
The accused have been identified as Kiran Kumar (29), hailing from Chitradurga district, and Aditya M K (20), hailing from Shivamogga district, they said.
A probe was initiated after information was received from the NCRP portal regarding a suspected instance of creation of Child Sexual Abuse Material (CSAM) for online dissemination, police said.
Accordingly, a case was registered at Kaggalipura Police Station under relevant sections of the IT Act on May 10, they added.
Investigation revealed that two minor girl victims were exploited and videos were created and uploaded to the internet. The child victims have subsequently recorded their statements as per procedure and further necessary legal steps have been taken, Pronab Mohanty Director General of Police, Cyber Command, said in a statement.
Based on the statements of the victims, the accused persons, who allegedly assaulted the minors, recorded the acts on mobile phones and uploaded the videos online, were arrested, he said.
Following the probe, sections 65(2) (rape) and 70 (gangrape) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, along with relevant sections of the POCSO Act, have been added to the FIR, police said.
Officials collected relevant information and on May 12, arrested the accused persons and seized three mobile phones belonging to them, in which the videos had allegedly been recorded, he said.
The accused were later produced before the court and taken into police custody for further investigation, he added.
According to him, in CSAM cases, police usually apprehend offenders who have downloaded such content or have kept them in their possession after obtaining them from elsewhere, usually the internet.
"The present case is one of the very few instances where content creators and uploaders have been apprehended," Mohanty added.
