On the Rails to Safety: RPF’s Relentless Fight Against Human Trafficking

It was an ordinary afternoon at New Jalpaiguri Railway Station on July 21, 2025. The bustle of trains, announcements, and rushing passengers belied a dark undercurrent that too often hides in plain sight — human trafficking. Acting on a tip-off, Miss Sarika Kumari, Lady Sub Inspector of the Railway Protection Force (RPF), along with RPF and Government Railway Police (GRP) officials, swung into action. A quiet, coordinated search across several coaches of Train No. 13245 DN went underway and what they found was staggering.

Fifty-six young adult girls, confused and unsure of their journey’s purpose, were being transported by two individuals — Jitendra Kumar Paswan and Chandrima Kar — who claimed they were escorting the girls to work in motor parts and mobile phone companies in Bengaluru. To avoid detection, the girls had been spread across various coaches. Upon inquiry, the girls could not provide details about their travel or employment, and even their parents were unaware of the specifics. Their coach and berth numbers had been scrawled in ink on their hands — a chilling reminder of how systemized such crimes have become. The traffickers failed to produce any valid documentation or give credible explanations. Following due process, both accused were arrested under relevant provisions of law relating to trafficking of children, and the rescued girls were released after verification.

Behind this success was not just a team of officers, but a vigilant security ecosystem determined to ensure that the vast Indian Railway network — the lifeline of the country — is not allowed to become a conduit for human exploitation.

The RPF's Expanding Role in Safeguarding Lives

For the RPF, this was just another day of silent, determined service. Among its many responsibilities — ensuring passenger safety, protecting railway property, and maintaining order — one role has gained increasing prominence over the last decade: preventing human trafficking.

Indian Railways, with its 13,000 trains, 7,500 stations, and an estimated 23 million passengers daily, is an artery of movement that connects remote corners of India to urban hubs. But what makes it a boon for mobility also attracts malefactors — unscrupulous elements who exploit the affordability, reach, and anonymity of the railway system to smuggle their victims. Women and children, particularly from marginalized regions, are targeted with false promises of jobs, education, or marriage, and pushed into child labour, prostitution and begging.

The RPF has grown into a pivotal force in ensuring that traffickers do not misuse this public infrastructure. Through sustained intelligence-based operations and coordination with Civil Police, NGOs, and other agencies, RPF has positioned itself as a key stakeholder in the national fight against human trafficking.

From Policing to Protection: Building a Trafficking-Free Network

The RPF’s proactive role in combating trafficking did not emerge overnight. Its evolution has been strategic, structured, and committed.

This transformation began with Operation Nanhe Farishtey, launched in 2020, with a mission to rescue children who were lost, abandoned, runaway, or trapped in exploitative conditions. While initially focused on minors, the operation opened a window into the broader machinery of trafficking — leading to a deeper institutional focus on dismantling networks that target not only children, but women and other vulnerable adults as well.

Nanhe Farishtey became a defining intervention, saving more than 64,000 children — 43,493 boys and 20411 girls — many from the grips of child labour, organized begging rings, and forced servitude during last four and a half years. After rescue, the children are produced before Child Welfare Committees (CWCs) for reintegration or safe institutional care, with crucial support from Child Help Desks (CHDs) and District Child Protection Units (DCPUs). These interventions have been operationalized at 135 major railway stations, with plans to scale it up further.

Building on its success, the RPF formally launched Operation AAHT (Action Against Human Trafficking) in 2022, creating 750 Anti-Human Trafficking Units (AHTUs) across the Indian Railways network. These units conduct intelligence-based drives, surveillance operations, and coordinated rescues with NGOs and local police. Strategic MoUs were signed with the National Commission for Women and Aarambh India (an NGO), enabling capacity-building, real-time information exchange, and structured rehabilitation support.

Strategic Intelligence and Technological Edge: Detection Dynamics

The battle against trafficking is no longer just about vigilance; it is about precision, prediction, and integration. RPF’s detection dynamics now involve a multi-pronged, tech-enabled strategy that combines human intelligence with digital surveillance.

Frontline railway workers — ticket examiners, porters, onboard housekeeping staff — are sensitized and trained to spot red flags. Simultaneously, data analytics backed CCTV surveillance and AI-powered facial recognition systems (FRS) help identify traffickers and potential victims based on movement patterns and known databases. The use of social and digital media platforms has further added a modern edge to detection. Cases reported through platforms like Twitter, WhatsApp helplines, and even crowd-sourced alerts have led to rescues. This evolving surveillance ecosystem ensures that traffickers no longer operate with impunity, even in the busiest and most chaotic transit points.

Rescues, Arrests, and Reforms: Measurable Progress, Real Lives

In 54 months between 2021 and mid-2025, 2,912 human trafficking victims were rescued by RPF, including over 2,600 minors and 264 adults. In this same period, 701 traffickers were arrested. The force has also played a crucial role in identifying illegal immigrants from Bangladesh and Myanmar, many of whom were victims of trafficking rings that promised work or refuge. Over 580 such cases were detected between 2022 and 2024.These numbers are not merely statistical milestones; they represent dismantled networks, broken chains of exploitation, and lives restored to safety.

But rescue is only part of the equation. RPF ensures that victims are counselled, supported, and rehabilitated through coordinated action with NGOs, CWCs, and shelter homes. From Muzaffarpur to Secunderabad, Katihar to Ajmer, known trafficking routes have been disrupted. Trains such as the Gorakhpur-Secunderabad Express, Rajendranagar-Ajmer Express, and New Jalpaiguri-Amritsar Express have become focal points for surveillance.

Prevention as the First Line of Defence

While rescue and prosecution are vital, prevention remains the cornerstone of an effective anti-trafficking strategy. The RPF, in alignment with broader government initiatives, has deployed a public outreach and awareness campaign across the railway ecosystem.

From short street plays at railway stations, to posters, banners, and standees, to broadcast messages via public address systems and rail display networks, the aim is to make every passenger a stakeholder in vigilance. Slogans such as “Stop Trafficking: Because Every Child Deserves to Be Free” are more than words — they are part of a cultural shift to recognize and report exploitation.

Moreover, community engagement — through social media campaigns, school outreach, and partnerships with civil society — is being mainstreamed into the preventive framework. The integration of helplines like 1098 and 112 ensures that reports can be swiftly acted upon.

Together, these efforts are reshaping stations into zones of safety — spaces where traffickers are no longer invisible, and victims are never alone.

Holding the Line, Together

On this World Day Against Trafficking in Persons, the story of the 56 girls rescued at New Jalpaiguri is not an exception — it is a reflection of a nationwide, relentless effort to combat one of humanity’s gravest crimes.

But trafficking is a dynamic threat. It adapts, migrates, and conceals itself in the very systems meant to enable progress. The challenge, therefore, is ongoing. It requires constant vigilance, inter-agency synergy, policy innovation, and above all, a shared societal resolve.

Because stopping trafficking isn’t just the RPF’s duty — it’s a collective responsibility. And every time a train pulls into a station without a life being lost to exploitation, we move one step closer to a safer, freer India.

news