Delhi residents continue to employ young children, most of whom are from Jharkhand, as domestic helps, recent raids on homes by city-based non-governmental organisations and police have revealed.

As many as 13 girls from Jharkhand have been rescued from homes across the city in the past week. The police began the raids after preparing a list of 45 homes where the girls had been employed.

According to Delhi government officials, the raids followed research by the child welfare committee, Dilshad Garden, to identify homes where children had been employed. The crime branch of the Delhi police was asked to raid the homes and rescue the children.

“So far, 13 children have been rescued and not surprisingly, all of them are from Jharkhand. In Delhi, most children who have been recently rescued are from Jharkhand. We are working closely with the authorities in the eastern state to stop trafficking of children,” Rishikant of Shakti Vahini NGO said. Some of the areas where the raids were conducted are Pitampura, Rohini, Janakpuri, Vikaspuri, Ashok Vihar, Dwarka, Kotla Mubarakpur, Vivek Vihar and Karol Bagh.

According to sources, information about the homes was obtained from a placement agency owner who was arrested this February after a girl’s rescue from east Delhi. “The employers of the children are being prosecuted under the Juvenile Justice Act,” a senior police officer said.

The children have narrated shocking tales of horror. “A case of sexual abuse of a girl by her 70-year-old employer in west Delhi has emerged,” the officer added.