In the light of the problems faced by officials in the repatriation of a Bangladeshi girl and another minor girl of West Bengal recently, a meeting of the railway police, State police and women and child welfare departments was held to discuss rescue, care, protection and repatriation of child victims.
Officials from the Government Railway Police (GRP), Railway Protection Force (RPF), Law and Order (L&O), Juvenile Welfare Department, Women Development and Child Welfare (WD&CW) Department and NGOs working on trafficking, street and runaway children took part in the meeting.
The programme was jointly organised by the GRP, Help organisation and Childline here on Thursday. More than 200 officers of various departments across the State attended the programme.
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The police rescued a Bangladeshi national, Sona, aged 16, at the railway station here when a gang which trafficked her tried to sell her. She was sent to Kolkata recently to be reunited with her parents.
Similar was the case of 15-year-old Pinky. A flesh trade gang brought her from West Bengal to the city and she was sexually assaulted by several persons about one and a half years ago.
The victim was rehabilitated in a shelter home but had not been repatriated till now. (Names of both the victims were changed).
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Additional Director General (Railways) K.R.M. Kishore Kumar inaugurated the programme. Juvenile Welfare Department Director K. Sarada Devi, GRP SPs Shemushi Bajpai (Vijayawada) and M. Subba Rao (Guntakal), WD&CW Joint Director E.V. Swarna Latha, Help secretary N.V.S. Rama Mohan and Child Welfare Committee (CWC) chairpersons and members of all districts attended.
Mr. Kishore Kumar said the GRP staff and those posted in Special Juvenile Police Units (SJPUs) should have complete knowledge of the Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection) Act 2015,
“In Tirupati, the GRP rescued 200 children in the last one year and most of them were reunited with their parents. In Visakhapatnam and Vijayawada, we rescued about 60 children. About 25 woman police constables were deputed to GRP for taking care of runaway, trafficked and the children in conflict with law,” the Additional DG said.