Timely intervention by volunteers of Childline and Marghadarshi, a non-governmental organisation, helped in rescuing two child labourers hailing from a village near Lucknow in Uttar Pradesh, who were forced to sell ice candies in the city by a relative.
Anandraj of Marghadarshi said here on Saturday the child labourers were brought from their village near Lucknow in Uttar Pradesh by a distant relative, Anees Muneer Ali, on the promise of putting them in a school.
Instead, they were forced to sell ice candies.
The children, who were forced to carry 20 kg cans by their employer, had to compulsorily sell ice candies worth Rs. 300 a day, failing which were beaten up mercilessly, said Mr. Anandraj.
The volunteers of Childline came to know of their plight when they were found wandering in the city and telling their woes to a shopkeeper.
The children were housed in the Balakara Bala Mandira run by the Women and Child Development Department. On Saturday, the Childline authorities alerted the Labour Department, and a team of officials from the Labour and Women and Child Development departments along with members of the non-governmental organisations raided the premises where Anees Muneer had set up a ice candy manufacturing unit.
During interrogation, Anees Muneer admitted that the children were brought from a village near Lucknow to sell ice candies.
He claimed to have paid an advance of Rs. 2,000 each to parents of the children.
Mr. Anandraj said the officials should take action against Anees Muneer.
