Three child labourers were rescued from in and around the Karkardooma court complex here on Friday in a joint operation carried out by the State Labour Department and Bachpan Bachao Andolan, a non-government organisation that works for child rights. One person has been arrested.
A Labour Department team led by Sub-Divisional Magistrate Usha Chatruvedi along with activists of Bachpan Bachao Andolan rescued two children from a tea stall inside the court complex and one child from an automobile shop outside the complex. The automobile shop owner was arrested and Rs.20,000 fine was imposed on him.
The rescued children were made to work for over 10 hours a day with one of them working for over three years now. The children were reportedly trafficked from villages in Uttar Pradesh and Bihar on promise of good fortune.
The action comes in the wake of Delhi High Court direction last month to identify and release child labourers working in and around court complexes.
In another case, eight children employed at a bangles unit in Chandni Mahal here were rescued on Friday. Two persons have been arrested in this connection.
A Central Delhi Police team patrolling in the Chandni Mahal area heard some children shouting in a house and went inside to find eight children busy making bangles. They were working in poor and pathetic conditions. The children purportedly told the police that their employers forced them to work 12 hours a day and did not give them fixed salary. The police team questioned the unit owners Mohammad Mustkim (21) and Abdul Raqeeb (45) in this connection and arrested them on charges of indulging in child labour.
