Late Saturday evening, at Platform Number 5 of the Katni Railway Station a joint team comprising the RPF, GRP, the Department of Women and Child Development, and the Child Protection Department rescued as many as 163 minor boys from Patna-Pune Superfast Express allegedly being trafficked from Bihar to Maharashtra and took them into their custody. All the children belong to a specific community. Along with the children - who were being taken from Araria in Patna to Latur in Maharashtra, seven persons accompanying the children were also de-boarded and apprehended from the train. This operation was conducted in light of potential concerns regarding human trafficking and child labour. All seven persons are currently being interrogated. According to SHO, RPF Virendra Singh, intelligence tip was received indicating that a large number of children were being taken under suspicious circumstances aboard the Patna-Pune Express. Hence, as soon as the train arrived in Katni, all the children were de-boarded. Preliminary questioning has revealed that the children were being taken from Araria in Bihar to a Madrasa located in Latur, Maharashtra. SP Abhinay Vishwakarma stated that all the children have currently been placed under the supervision of the Child Welfare Committee (CWC).

 

The Aadhaar cards, letters from the Araria Panchayat, and other documents pertaining to all the children are being scrutinised. According to the SP, the children will remain under the supervision of the CWC until contact has been successfully established with the guardians of each child. The GRP have registered a case under section 143(4) (trafficking of a child below the age of eighteen years) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) against the eight accused, all from different districts of Bihar. Initial investigations suggest that the boys were being taken to Latur to work as labourers, he said, adding that the GRP is investigating the case. However, a person named Saddam, who was travelling with the children, has identified himself as a teacher at a Madarsa in Latur, Maharashtra. Saddam claims that he is escorting 100 of the children from Araria to the Madarsa in Latur, while the remaining children are being accompanied by other individuals. The joint team comprising the RPF, GRP, the Department of Child Development, and the Child Protection Department is treating this entire matter with the utmost seriousness and is actively making efforts to establish contact with the guardians of every single child.