ON MAY 20, 2026, Sanjog, a social impact organisation that works on anti-human trafficking, published an ‘Anti-Human Trafficking Unit Watch Report’ tracing the functionality of Anti-Human Trafficking Units (‘AHTUs’) across all Indian states and Union Territories (‘UTs’) between 2010 and 2025 across three phases. The report draws primarily on information received from states and UTs through RTI applications, along with inputs from lawyers, civil society organisations, and survivor testimonies.
Anti-Human Trafficking Units were envisioned by the Ministry of Home Affairs as specialised units charged with preventing trafficking, conducting rescues, investigating cases, prosecuting traffickers, and aiding the rehabilitation of survivors. Their composition envisages trained law enforcement personnel working in structured coordination with Child Welfare Committees (‘CWCs’), District Child Protection Units (‘DCPUs’), legal aid authorities, and shelters.
The report which opens with National Crime Records Bureau’s (‘NCRB’) ‘Crime in India’ report reflects a rising trend in human trafficking up to 2016, when reported cases peaked at 8,132, followed by a subsequent decline. This decline, however, must be read against a troubling backdrop. The Supreme Court, while hearing a Special Leave Petition filed by a father whose eighteen-month-old daughter went missing in 2011 and remains untraced, noted that 47,000 children continue to remain untraced to date. The report cautions that the post-2016 decline in reported trafficking cases may reflect a failure of institutional documentation rather than any real reduction in the incidence of trafficking.
