NGO worker gets two years in jail for child trafficking

NGO worker gets two years in jail for child trafficking
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Ayesha Arvind
Posted: Oct 31, 2008 at 0111 hrs IST

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New Delhi, October 30 While the legal fraternity continues to delve upon the admissibility of sting operation tapes as evidence in court, a city court has sentenced a person to two years in jail in a child trafficking case, based on a sting aired on a television news channel.
Chander Shekhar was arrested by the Delhi Police in September 2006, when a television journalist made a written complaint after conducting a sting operation, exposing the trafficking racket.
Shekhar, an employee at Prayas Kendra in the Nabi Karim area, had allegedly been selling off the children residing in the NGO.
On September 23, 2006, Harish Sharma, a journalist, conducted a sting operation. He allegedly got in touch with Shekhar through two middlemen, Raja and Ravi, saying he required children to help him smuggle gold.
According to the complaint, Shekhar agreed to give him three children from the NGO for Rs 30,000. He brought them (names withheld) to Sharma at Connaught Place after the latter paid an advance of Rs 7,000.
Sharma later handed over the children to the Connaught Place police along with a copy of the CD and the script containing details of the entire episode that was aired on Star News the same day.
Shekhar’s counsel argued that he should be let off as there was no evidence to suggest that the children were to be employed in “harmful” or “abusive” activities and since Shekhar had no previous criminal record.
Additional Sessions Judge S K Sarvaria, however, dismissed the arguments and convicted Shekhar under penal provisions pertaining to trafficking and criminal conspiracy.
The court held that the sting tapes, the credibility of which could not be impeached during the trial, could very well be relied upon to secure the conviction of the accused.
The judge also ordered that a separate chargesheet be filed against the two middlemen, Raja and Ravi, who were yet to be traced.