20 Jharkhand tribal children ‘held captive’ at marble factory

As many as 20 tribal children aged 12-18 from Giridih district of Jharkhand allegedly held captive at a marble factory in a Rajasthan town will be rescued in a day or two, officials said on Monday. Pravin Kumar Mishra reports.

As many as 20 tribal children aged 12-18 from Giridih district of Jharkhand allegedly held captive at a marble factory in a Rajasthan town will be rescued in a day or two, officials said on Monday.

Francis Tuddu, a resident of Gandey, said a week ago one Sunil Yadav of Koderma district in Jharkhand told the parents of these children he will get them work fit for children in Delhi or Jaipur.

“But one of the boys escaped from the factory and told us how the owners and the management seized their mobile phones to prevent them from contacting their families. He told us they were forced to perform hazardous tasks,” Tuddu told the media at the district collectorate on Saturday.

Giridih deputy commissioner Diprabha Lakra said the administration swung into action soon after the parents of these children from nearly a dozen villages in the district complained to him on Saturday.

"After contacting Rajasthan authorities, we have learnt the factory is located in Pauta locality on Delhi-Jaipur highway, about 90km from Jaipur. If everything goes well, the children would be released within a day or two,” Lakra said.