The spurt in illegal transportation and detention of tribal children from the neighbouring States is worrying the government, child rights activists and the organisations working on tribal welfare activities. About 35 children, mostly tribal girls of Odisha, Jharkhand, Bihar, Chhattisgarh and from the State, were rescued by the officials and Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs) in the last few months.
The NGO, Sathi, which rescued 13 Gond tribe girls in the city on Tuesday, handed over them to their parents.
However, the officials were clueless on the mediators who shifted them to Andhra Pradesh and no police case had been registered. NGO representatives said some mediators were forcibly shifting tribal children from agency areas for a commission on the pretext of providing employment.
In October 2015 year, five tribal children including four minor girls of Paderu agency area in Visakhapatnam district were rescued in the Vijayawada railway station.
“When the mediator, Ganesh, and the children were waiting on the platform, our staff noticed them. As Ganesh and the children gave incoherent replies, we took the five children into custody and shifted them to Navajeevan Bala Bhavan,” said home Executive Director S. Bala Showry.
Officials of the Women Development and Child Welfare, Juvenile Welfare Department and the police raided a shelter home at Gannavaram in Krishna district and rescued 30 Scheduled Tribe children on February 4 this year. The children were admitted in the home without obtaining permission from the officials concerned.
During inquiry, it was revealed that a mediator took advantage of the poverty of the tribals and illegally brought them to Krishna district. “We traced the parents of all the children. They belonged to Santhal tribe and were labourers. About 70 children were found in the home of which 30 were tribals,” said Krishna District Child Welfare Committee (CWC) Chairman B. Nagesh Rao.
Family members of the Gond tribe girls rescued on Tuesday said they had sent their daughters due to poverty.
“I am involved in agriculture in a tribal village in Kankher district. When mediator Mohan told us he would find a good job for my daughter, we sent the girl with him. We are unable to make both ends meet,” Ratan Lal, father of a girl, told The Hindu .
District Child Protection Officer (DCPO) Ch. Vijay Kumar said under the Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act 2015, “detaining children is a crime”. “We will keep a vigil on bus and railway stations in the district,” the DCPO said.
