17 children ‘rescued’ from Delhi-bound buses

Seventeen children were rescued on Friday from two Delhi-bound luxury buses in Gaya district, officials said

Seventeen children were rescued on Friday from two Delhi-bound luxury buses in Gaya district, officials said.

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They were being taken there to be engaged in bangle factories, they said.

On June 21 also, two boys were rescued from a Jaipur-bound luxury bus in Gaya.

“On Friday, there were children among passengers in Delhi bound luxury buses . The anti-human trafficking team already had a tip-off about this, and with the support of local police, it intercepted the buses as soon as it came out of Gaya city and the children were rescued,” said Suresh, a member of the anti- trafficking cell who runs an NGO to fight against child trafficking at Gaya.

All the 17 children were later produced before child welfare committee with the permission of local police. They would be sent to Bal Griha after formalities, Suresh said.

“Local administration and police have been directed to keep a watch on interstate luxury buses for potential child labourers,” Anil Kishore Yadav, additional director general (weaker section), said.

In March this year, the department in collaboration with the UNICEF, Childline and the Railway Protection Force (RPF), had launched a scheme for identification of potential victims of child trafficking and their rescue. Under the scheme, known as Surakshit Safar, teams have been deployed at 11 railway stations of the state, he said.