94 child labourers rescued from factories in Delhi

Ninty-four children, working as bonded labourers in factories in the national capital, have been rescued in a joint raid by labour department, Delhi police and an NGO associated with the cause.

Ninty-four children, working as bonded labourers in factories in the national capital, have been rescued in a joint raid by labour department, Delhi police and an NGO associated with the cause.

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All were aged between 7 and 14 years and brought from Bihar's Sitamarhi, Darbhanga and Araria districts.

"These child labourers were rescued in a joint raid by Bachpan Bachao Andolan (BBA), labour department, Delhi Police, National Legal Services Authority (NALSA) and Delhi Legal Services Authority (DLSA) from factories from Usmanpur area of north-east Delhi," said Kailash Satyarthi, founder of BBA.

One of the rescued children said he had been working for past six month in one of the units and was forced to work for 16 hours a day without any remuneration.

The children were allegedly forced to work in poorly lit and ill-ventilated rooms and had to stay there itself, police said.

"This raid is litmus test to Delhi Government as it is the first rescue operation after the Delhi High Court's landmark judgment in which it directed to lodge cases against employer under Criminal Procedures Code and to recover Rs 20,000 for each child labourer from the employer immediately," Satyarthi said.