Sixteen children, who were being trafficked to Ludhiana in Punjab, were rescued and five agents arrested at Old Delhi railway station in a joint operation on Thursday. The victims had been brought from Bihar, West Bengal and Nepal.
The operation was carried out by non-government organisation Bachpan Bachao Andolan in coordination with the Delhi Police and the Railway Police. The children, four of whom are from Nepal, were brought to the Capital on board the Brahmaputra Mail and were being taken to Ludhiana on the pretext of better employment opportunities in garment factories, shops and farms. Parents of most children were not aware that they were being sent to Ludhiana.
Girdhar, a 14-year-old boy from Nepal, told the rescue team: “I have eight siblings and my parents recently passed away. I had no other option but to explore better employment opportunities outside my village.”
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In another case, the Crime Branch rescued six minors placed as domestic helps in different parts of the Malviya Nagar. The operation was carried out on Wednesday following an order of the Lajpat Nagar Child Welfare Committee on March 27.
Agency
A complaint in this regard was lodged by a person who earlier worked with the domestic help agency through which the children had been placed. The complainant, who has given names of 20 children, had earlier approached the Delhi Government and the other bodies seeking action.
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The police have registered a case against suspected human traffickers, including Laxman and Rahu.