Key Terms & Concepts — UPSC Mains
AHTU
"Specialised district-level police units tasked with investigating human trafficking, child trafficking and missing-persons cases."
Anti-Human Trafficking Units (AHTUs) are dedicated district-level police formations under the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) framework, designed to give victims a single, specialised point of contact and to overcome jurisdictional friction in trans-state trafficking. Each AHTU is typically headed by a police officer of Inspector or DSP rank and is staffed with trained investigators, women police personnel and counsellors. The statutory underpinnings include the Immoral Traffic (Prevention) Act 1956 (ITPA); the relevant trafficking provisions of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita 2023 (Sections 143-144, replacing IPC 370 and 370A); the Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection) Act 2015; and the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act 2012. AHTUs are required to integrate with the central child- and victim-tracking ecosystem, TrackChild, the Khoya-Paya portal, ZIPNET, and CCTNS, and to coordinate with the National Legal Services Authority (NALSA) victim-compensation scheme. The 2024 US Trafficking in Persons (TIP) Report counted approximately 788 AHTUs operational across India.
GS2 (governance, vulnerable sections, social justice) and GS1 (society, women and children). Frequent material for Mains questions on policing reforms, missing children, and India's record under the Palermo Protocol on Trafficking in Persons.
- 1 District-level specialised police units under MHA framework.
- 2 Approximately 788 AHTUs operational across India (US TIP 2024).
- 3 Statutory basis: ITPA 1956, BNS 2023 Sections 143-144, JJ Act 2015, POCSO 2012.
- 4 Integrated with TrackChild, Khoya-Paya, ZIPNET and CCTNS databases.
- 5 Linked to NALSA victim compensation scheme.
- 6 India is a signatory to the UN Palermo Protocol on Trafficking in Persons.
On May 22, 2026, a Supreme Court bench of Justices Aravind Kumar and K V Viswanathan directed the full functionalisation of all roughly 788 AHTUs within four weeks and made the registration of an FIR mandatory in every missing-child case.
