541 children rescued by Operation Muskaan-V

The Cyberabad Police Commissioner V C Sajjanar on Monday said that during 'Operation Muskaan-V' in July 541 children were rescued, including 483 minor boys and 58 minor girls. The State topped in child rescuing, he said.

Addressing the media, the CP said 247 cases were registered under various sections concerned to crime against children under sections 374 IPC, 75, 79 Juvenile Justice Act 2015 and under sections 14 of Child Labour (Prohibition and Regulation) Amendment Act 2016, on the employers.

62 children including 54 boys and 8 girls were restored to their parents and guardians. 479 children were admitted in rescue homes. 338 children including 316 boys and 22 girls belonging to other states were also rescued. CP said out of 541 children 43 were rescued from streets, 426 from labour, 39 from begging and 33 from rag-picking.

As per the instructions of Ministry of Home Affairs to form teams for Operation Muskaan-V, Cyberabad Police formed teams in the nine divisions of Cyberabad. They traced the missing children, children involved in child labour, bonded labour, micro industries, begging and trafficked children.

15 children were rescued from a Spinning Mill in Medchal, 10 minor children were rescued from Metal Industries in Mailardevpally, 6 children were rescued from Plastic Company in Kattedan, 5 children rescued from metal welding industry in Balanagar, the Muskaan-V Team rescued 3 children, 2 boys and 1 girl aged 10, 11 and 12 years and found that the children were HIV positive.

The children's parents had died due to HIV/AIDS and they were being taken care of by their relatives who forced them to beg. They were not given food if they did not bring at least Rs 1,500 daily. The children travelled by metro to different locations for begging to get food.

Children found in pathetic conditions

CP said that during the rescue of child labours, it was observed that, the children were made to work from dawn to dusk for more than 12 hours without break. They were living in unhygienic condition in small rooms without ventilation. They were provided no proper diet, a meal of rice and watery dal two times a day and were not provided any holiday.

Middlemen paid meagre amounts around Rs 10,000 to the parents of the children and brought them from Bihar, Jharkhand, Odissa, Assam and other States. Further, they observed that the children were suffering from malnutrition, stunted growth and other health issues. Children working in metal welding work got their hands and eyes badly affected. Children working in cotton spinning mill were suffering from bronchitis, covered with fine dust from head to toe.