KUZHITHURAI, INDIA - Northeast India has a high concentration of Christians, but there are fears that this fact is being exploited by criminals disguising themselves as missionaries and evangelists in order to traffic children.

Last month, over seventy such malnourished children from Manipur, Nagaland, and other north eastern states were rescued from a home at Kuzhithurai in Kanyakumari district.

Families, particularly in Manipur, are reportedly sending their children off into the hands of traffickers who promise to give them an education or employment, as highlighted recently by the Times of India.

It is believed that the children, aged from around six to fifteen, are being taken to unregistered children's homes where they are kept in poor conditions and made to do menial work such as cooking and laundry.

There have been reports of children dying in suspicious circumstances and of others being molested and abused.

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