India asks Singapore to curb trafficking racket

NEW DELHI: After five girls from Manipur were rescued in Kuala Lumpur, India is now asking the Singapore government to take action against the maid placement agency that allegedly ran a human trafficking racket across many north-eastern states.

The maid placement agency Abel and Joe is registered with the Singapore government and has sent girls abroad from the north-east.

The Indian embassy in Singapore has been asked to take up the matter with the government there. Earlier, after the girls fled from a Kuala Lumpur night club, the Malyasian government helped the girls with arrangements for their return back home.

"The agency had no mandatory registrations to conduct overseas recruitments. We have also forwarded copies of details on how the agency and its agents ran the trafficking racket," Ministry of Overseas Indian Affairs (MOIA) secretary K Mohandas said.

Earlier two people representing the agency were arrested by Manipur police in this connection while 12 others were summoned by a local court. The case details were forwarded to the MOIA by the parents of the victimised girls.

"In our communication with the Singapore government we had sought a look out notice for the agency's India recruiter Ricky Ho and more details on the activities of the agency," said a ministry official here.

Co-ordinator of the Naga People's Movement for Human Rights Kienderson Pamei had urged the ministry to take action against the agency's website that still posts advertisements featuring gullible Indian girls.