The Crime Branch of Goa police on Friday and Saturday raided Moonlight Circus at Margao and arrested owner Abdul Khan from Assam following a complaint that a minor girl working there was raped on Friday.
A local NGO on child-rights had complained to the police about the rape of a minor girl. During the second raid on Saturday, the police also rescued 14 minor boys and girls and four major persons, mostly from north East and some from Bangladesh. The circus owner has been charged for trafficking minor children as well as others and exploiting them in different manners in the name of circus, Superintendent of Police Karthik Kashyap of Crime Branch told The Hindu on Saturday.
He said that some of the children have been trafficked from Bangladesh and their names have been changed to Hindu names to hide their identity.
All the rescued minors will be sent to State Children's home "Apna Ghar" at Merces in north Goa, he said.
