Today in Surat, a team of the Rajasthan and Gujarat child rights commissions, the former’s anti-human trafficking unit and an NGO jointly rescued 138 children between 10 to 16 years of age group.
These children were brought from Rajasthan to Surat for working in textile industries, hotels and as domestic workers. They were rescued in a joint operation by Nobel Laureate Kailash Satyarthi’s NGO Bachpan Bachao Andolnan, raided an apartment in Puna locality.
12 people were arrested in the raid and have been handed over to Surat police. Out of the 138 children rescued, 128 were from Rajasthan, remaining from Jharkhand and UP Uttar Pradesh. 12 people have been detained and handed over to police, though the mastermind is missing said Shailendra Pandya, Rajasthan State Commission for Protection of Child Rights member.
Children were kept in inhuman conditions and were made to work in the textile industries, hotels and as domestic workers. Many children are from tribal areas of Rajasthan and were trafficked to Surat to provide cheap labour Pandya said.
