10 'trafficked' children rescued in Delhi

The DCPCR said it conducted rescue operation of 10 child labourers from the New Delhi Railway Station in coordination with teams of the police, NGOs Bachpan Bachao Andolan and Prayas ChildLine, and the Karol Bagh 'tehsildar' on Tuesday. The children were being trafficked from Jainagar in Bihar to work in the National Capital Region and Ambala, Haryana, and most of them were found unaware of being forced into child labour, it said in a statement, adding that they were in unsafe and unhygienic conditions.

The Delhi Commission for Protection of Child Rights (DCPCR) claimed on Tuesday that it had rescued 10 children who were allegedly trafficked to work as child labourers, even as the police said they were in the process to ascertain the trafficking angle. The DCPCR said it conducted rescue operation of 10 child labourers from the New Delhi Railway Station in coordination with teams of the police, NGOs Bachpan Bachao Andolan and Prayas ChildLine, and the Karol Bagh 'tehsildar' on Tuesday.

The children were being trafficked from Jainagar in Bihar to work in the National Capital Region and Ambala, Haryana, and most of them were found unaware of being forced into child labour, it said in a statement, adding that they were in unsafe and unhygienic conditions. The children were rescued by the teams successfully and provided with masks, sanitisers and refreshments, the DCPCR said.

Statements of the rescued children have been recorded, followed by medical and coronavirus tests. The children will be produced before a child welfare committee (CWC) on Wednesday over video conference and they will, meanwhile, stay at the child care institution at Lajpat Nagar, it added. Deputy Commissioner of Police (Railways) Harendra Kumar Singh said if the CWC found out that the children had actually been trafficked, only then, the legal proceedings would be initiated.

In another operation conducted two days ago, the DCPCR rescued six children who were allegedly being trafficked from Bihar to work as labourers in Delhi. The traffickers have been targeting poor families in Bihar, persuading them to send their children on the pretext of giving employment, the DCPCR said.

DCPCR Chairperson Anurag Kundu said the commission had started a scheme for providing financial incentive for reporting of child labour. He urged citizens to report instances of child labour and win cash award up to to Rs 10,000.