Engaged illegally by Noida couple, minor domestic help from Jharkhand rescued after 2 years
Engaged illegally by Noida couple, minor domestic help from Jharkhand rescued after 2 years
Noida, An 11-year-old girl from Jharkhand working as a domestic help at a Noida apartment for the past two years has been rescued and legal proceedings have been initiated against a couple which engaged her illegally, officials said on Tuesday.
Employing a child below 14 or a child between 14 and 18 in a hazardous occupation is a punishable offence in India.
The girl's family in Bokaro received ₹5,000 per month as salary for her work, which included cleaning and dusting as well as taking care of the couple's toddler, among other household chores, the officials said.
The couple both working professionals living in the Logix Blossom County society in Sector 137 allegedly beat up the girl if she made any mistake in her household jobs, they added.
The girl was rescued on Monday after some residents informed the local police station besides dialling the child helpline number after spotting her in a slightly lost state at a park inside the society.
"The girl was produced before the Child Welfare Committee which sent her for a medical examination at the community health centre in Bhangel. Later, she was sent to a child care home," Yuvraj Kumar, supervisor of the child helpline, told PTI.
"When our counsellors spoke to the girl, she told them that her parents were very poor. Her two brothers stayed with the family in Bokaro while she came here for work at a salary of ₹5,000 per month which she sent to her mother," Kumar said.
The employee couple also hails from Jharkhand and had engaged the girl as a fulltime domestic help around two years back, Kumar said, adding that legal proceedings have been initiated against the duo after child helpline officials approached the local police.
Kumar also stressed the need to spread awareness among the citizens on matters related to child labour and how to report them to the concerned authorities.
"While the child helpline is not a government agency, it works in tandem with the government. Any matter related to atrocities against children can be reported at the dedicated helpline number 1098. The callers can also dial the emergency number 112 to report such cases," Kumar said.
"At present, the child helpline in Noida receives around 200 cases per month on an average, dealing with issues ranging from child labour to child marriage, among others. Only last week, a timely alert helped us prevent a child marriage in the Tigri area," he added.
This article was generated from an automated news agency feed without modifications to text.