In 2007, the district of Supaul in Bihar was completely inundated, as heavy rainfall in the catchment area of Nepal had caused massive flooding, forcing residents to seek shelter in relief camps. I had gone to Supaul by road to report on the floods for a national daily. Families were distraught, with members of one family often being forced to find accommodation in different relief camps. The elderly and young children were the worst affected. On my way back, I stopped to have a cup of chai at the closest railway station, which was Saharsa Junction. At the station, I saw a middle-aged man leading four young girls between the ages of ten and twelve to the bogey of a stationary train. Something seemed amiss, but I made light of what I had witnessed, as I needed to get back to Patna by the evening.

I subsequently learnt that a large number of children had been trafficked from and around Supaul during this period. Traffickers usually take advantage of families who are facing adversity and economic hardship.

Twelve years later, a group of Delhi-based women journalists was travelling to Damascus via Dubai. As we settled into our seats on the plane, we were followed into the plane by an attractive middle-aged woman from the Northeast, who was escorting three attractive young women, all in their early twenties. “They have come to work in Dubai,” she later told a fellow journalist, refusing to specify their work profile. It was pretty obvious what kind of work the girls would be made to do.

The Northeast has emerged as a key destination from where young girls are being lured into trafficking, with many being picked by handsome young men who appear flushed with money and present themselves as prospective husbands. These “husbands” are little more than conduits who receive a handsome........

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