Almost 20,000 people sold into slavery in India in 2016

In 2016, the number of victims of human trafficking increased in India. It reached almost 20,000 women and children, Regnum reported referring to The Hindu.

«The number of victims of such crimes increased by 25 percent compared to 2015 as representatives of the Ministry for Women and Child Development said. The number of women affected increased by 22 percent, and the number of children — by 27. In total, 9,104 children became victims of human trafficking last year," the agency reports.

The largest number of victims was recorded in the eastern state of West Bengal, which shares borders with Bangladesh and Nepal.