39 children rescued from begging in Vadodara

The rescued kids will be taken to a safe place and their parents will be called by the child protection unit and questioned, she said.The police official said the parents and the children will be counselled so that the minors are not sent back for begging.

The police on Wednesday rescued 39 children found begging at traffic signals in Vadodara city and handed them over to the child protection unit for their rehabilitation, an official said. “A team of police along with the child protection unit of the social welfare department rescued 39 child beggars from different locations in the city,” Deputy Commissioner of Police Leena Patil said.

The police official said that the parents of the children would be questioned, and a probe into the background of the children would be carried out to ensure that they were not kidnapped and forced into begging.

The drive was conducted over safety concerns as the kids were made to beg on a busy road, she said.

“We will also verify if the kids were kidnapped or forced into begging. ... We scanned 11 locations to identify 70 children, of which 39 were rescued. The rescued kids will be taken to a safe place and their parents will be called by the child protection unit and questioned,” she said.

The police official said the parents and the children will be counselled so that the minors are not sent back for begging.