Agra: 8-year-old boy’s hands burned after he refuses to beg

An eight-year-old boy, whose hands were burned by the ‘begging mafia’ for refusing to beg, was rescued from the Agra railway station.

An eight-year-old boy, whose hands were burned by the ‘begging mafia’ for refusing to beg, was rescued from the Agra Cantonment Railway station.

The boy, Arjun, was rescued on February 15 after he was spotted crying at the railway station. He was sent to a child care home in the city after informing the Railway Police.

Arjun revealed that he was from Gwalior and had been separated from his mother four years ago before meeting Seema, a woman who forced him to beg, said Narendra Parihar of Childline.

According to sources, at least six children are in Seema’s custody. When Arjun refused to beg, he was forced to go hungry for several days. When he didn’t give in, she allegedly burned his hands after pouring kerosene.

Seema brought these children to Agra a few days ago and forced them to earn at least Rs 100 each every day. Arjun, however, managed to run away and was found by Childline.

“The GRP officials will send teams to Gwalior to find his parents. A search operation will also be launched to find Seema,” said Parihar.

Circle officer GRP Raj Kumar Gautam said a team comprising a sub-inspector and two constables has been constituted. “The team will visit Gwalior and also search for Seema,” Gautam told HT.