Nagpur: The Second Capital of Maharashtra is fast becoming a crucial junction in India’s human trafficking map. Strategically located on the Howrah–Mumbai and Grand Trunk rail routes, Nagpur Railway Station has turned into a key transit point for traffickers shuttling victims across the country. Railway Protection Force (RPF) personnel here have rescued 580 victims in the past two years alone, women, children, and men from the North-East, Bangladesh, Myanmar, West Bengal, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, and Odisha.
The numbers paint a grim picture. In 2024, Nagpur RPF teams saved 45 boys, 34 girls, 22 men, and 36 women. From January 1 to July 29, 2025, they rescued another 34 boys, 22 girls, three men, and 14 women. Nationally, since 2020, the RPF has intercepted 64,000 trafficking attempts, freeing 43,493 boys and 20,411 girls from trains and stations.
Gold Rate
14 Aug 2025
To combat the menace, Indian Railways has deployed 750 Anti-Human Trafficking Units across its network, including one at Nagpur, under operations like Muskaan and Aahat. Surveillance has been tightened on high-risk routes such as Secunderabad, Ajmer, Muzaffarpur, and Katihar.
“Given the vastness of the railway network, identifying traffickers is extremely challenging,” said Deep Chandra Arya, Senior Divisional Security Commissioner, RPF, South East Central Railway, Nagpur Division. “But we have been successful in tracking and apprehending suspects, handing them over to local police, and rescuing victims. Most of those trafficked are forced into bonded labour or sexual exploitation.”
Arya added that RPF teams are closely monitoring vulnerable passengers, especially children and lone travellers, to ensure they are safe “from point A to point B.”
Officials are urging passengers to remain vigilant and report suspicious activity to helplines 1098 or 112. They stressed that only coordinated vigilance can dismantle trafficking syndicates that exploit the Railways as their lifeline.
