36 child labourers rescued from east delhi

In a raid conducted by the East District Task Force and an NGO, 36 child labourers were rescued from east Delhi on Tuesday. The children were working with an garment industry and eateries.

In a raid conducted by the East District Task Force and an NGO, 36 child labourers were rescued from east Delhi on Tuesday. The children were working with an garment industry and eateries.

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Police arrested eight employers and 10 buildings were sealed in the case.

The NGO, Bachpan Bachao Andolan, had received a tip-off that a large number of children had been trafficked and were working in zari and stitching workshops in the area.

“All the rescued children are between 5-14 years and belong to Uttar Pradesh and Bihar. They had been working here from the past six months,” an NGO member said.

“I came to visit Delhi a few months back, but I was made to work in this factory against my wishes. I do not want to work and want to go to school,” said Rakesh, (name changed) 5, who was rescued.

Founder of Bachpan Bachao Andolan, Kailash Satyarthi, said that Delhi was increasingly becoming a hub of trafficking.

“The capital city is the epicentre with children from different states being trafficked via Delhi. It is one of the biggest transitory camps. This fact again is reinstated with the illegal functioning of over 2,000 placement agencies here,” he said.

The rescue operation was led by the sub-divisional magistrate, who was accompanied by police and members of the labour department.