The Labour Department officials on Thursday produced before the Child Welfare Committee (CWC) all seven children rescued from Vijayawada Railway Station. They were referred to the Child Line.
A team led by Assistant Commissioner of Labour (ACL) D. Anjaneya Reddy, on reliable information, conducted search on the railway platform here and rescued seven children on Wednesday. The victims, all native of ST Colony, Kaikalur in Krishna district, were being taken to Chennai by a mason P. Srinu, for deploying at different work sites.
Speaking to The Hindu , the ACL said that information was given to the parents/guardians of the rescued children. The victims would be provided shelter in the Child Line temporarily. A complaint has been lodged with the Government Railway Police against P. Srinu. Further investigation is on, said the officer.
Kaikalur Assistant Labour Officer Lalitha Kumari will visit the ST Colony, interact with the family members of victims and submit a report to the Labour Department. The department will in-turn submit the report to the district Collector.
Counselling
“Most of the children are from broken families and a few orphans. All the seven boys are malnourished. The officials conducted counselling for the parents of the rescued children at the Child Line,” said Mr. Anjaneya Reddy.
The accused Srinu, who is at large, allegedly used to take child labourers to Chennai for the past few years. “We are trying to find out the details of the children shifted to other places for work,” said the ACL.
