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New Delhi: As many as 21 children, including 14 girls, were rescued from two placement agencies in the capital in a joint raid led by the National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR) in coordination with the Labour Department, District Child Protection Unit (DCPU), Anti-Human Trafficking Unit, Sub-Divisional Magistrate (SDM), and the Association for Voluntary Action (AVA), also known as Bachpan Bachao Andolan (BBA). Acting on a complaint by BBA, the joint team conducted raids at ten locations in the northwest and west districts of Delhi. The children, aged 8 to 17 years, were trafficked from different parts of the country under the pretext of receiving education and a better life. The operation not only revealed the harrowing conditions the children were subjected to but also uncovered records of thousands of other children, along with ₹10.5 lakh in cash and gold jewelry.
Of the 21 rescued children, 5 were rescued from Rajouri garden, 3 from Nihal Vihar and 13 from Shakurpur area of the national capital. One particularly challenging rescue took place in the Shakurpur area, where authorities faced significant resistance, including a locked main gate that took four hours and special permission from the LG to break open. All the rescued children, who appeared extremely scared, hungry, sleep-deprived, and confused, were subsequently brought before the Child Welfare Committee. The children hailed from various states including West Bengal, West Bengal, Odisha, Assam, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Jharkhand and Chhattisgarh.
Bachpan Bachao Andolan had raised the issue in its complaint to the NCPCR that traffickers often bring vulnerable children from remote and marginalized families under the guise of placement agencies and sell them to employers and into prostitution.
“Today’s raid once again brings forth the urgent need for stringent regulations and vigilant enforcement to protect vulnerable children from exploitation and trafficking. It is imperative to regulate placement agencies because they are becoming a dangerous tool in the hands of traffickers. The traffickers often approach marginalized families in far-flung states and make tall promises about the future of these children or lure the parents with a large sum of money. There is a vicious cycle of demand and supply for child labour in the country. It is everyone’s responsibility to end child labour and trafficking, and we will continue raising the alarm and supporting the authorities in such rescue missions and drives,” Manish Sharma, Director of Bachpan Bachao Andolan, said.
