Fifteen children who were found begging in Tuticorin were rescued in a joint raid conducted by a team from Department of Social Welfare, Childline, Child Protection Unit and Child Welfare Committee on Saturday.
The drive was carried out following a directive from Collector M. Ravikumar, said Chairman of Child Welfare Committee P. Murugesan.
They were found begging near new bus stand, old bus stand, Sivan Temple and Shrine Basilica here. Among the rescued children, 10 were boys.
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While one of the girls was aged 15, the others were aged below 10, said T. Kasirajan, Coordinator of Childline.
Most of them were from Tsunami Colony and Thalamuthu Nagar here.
Apart from Tuticorin, three boys were said to be from Karnataka and school-goers. Three children were found begging with their parents and two others with their grandmothers, he said.
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The rescued children were taken to the Government Hospital here to check their health condition.
After the check up, they will be handed over to the Child Welfare Committee for rehabilitation.
I. Noelin Fathima Rani, member of the committee, said parents of the rescued children had been asked to give credentials to prove that these children belonged to them.
She said the boys, who revealed their names, had claimed that they were from Karnataka.
However, certificates were sought from their educational institutions to check whether they were school-goers or victims of child trafficking.
These children would be counselled to refrain from begging. One man and a woman claimed that they were parents of two rescued boys of Karnataka. However, a thorough investigation would be held after convening a meeting by the committee here on Tuesday, she said.
The rescued children were taken to the Government Hospital to
check their
health condition