In one of the most disturbing child protection crackdowns in recent years, a joint team of the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC), Women and Child Development Department (WCD), Raipur Police and Association for Voluntary Action (AVA) rescued more than 120 children from a mushroom manufacturing unit operating under severely hazardous and illegal conditions. The four-hour operation brought to light a trafficking and bonded labour chain that had confined minors to exploitative work cycles inside an industrial setting unfit for any human presence, let alone children.

 

The rescued group included more than 80 girls and 40 boys, most aged between fourteen and seventeen years. Many of them had been trafficked from tribal belts across the states of West Bengal, Odisha, Madhya Pradesh, Jharkhand and Assam. Several children revealed that local agents transported them on false promises and kept them confined in cramped factory rooms, forcing them to work twelve to fifteen hours daily with minimal access to food. Some had spent more than six years inside the facility without any possibility of escape or communication with their families.

 

The tip-off originated from a detailed letter written by the Association for Voluntary Action to the NHRC, flagging coercive conditions that amounted to trafficking, bonded labour and severe restriction on movement. Acting immediately, NHRC member Priyank Kanoongo alerted the Senior Superintendent of Police, Raipur. A team led by DSP Nandini Thakur, heading the Anti Human Trafficking Unit, raided the unit and moved the children to safety. Counselling, medical checks and documentation began through the WCD machinery as legal proceedings were initiated. Early evidence has exposed the hazardous nature of the mushroom processing unit known as Mojo Mushroom.

 

Investigators found children climbing unstable three-storey metal jallis to hang mushroom packets at low temperatures without protective gear. Soil used inside the factory appeared to contain formalin, a chemical known for its carcinogenic effects and capacity to cause throat injuries, lung damage and, in severe exposure, death. Child rights specialists described the site as a crime hub operating with impunity. Bhuwan Ribhu, Founder of Just Rights for Children, said the conditions represented the darkest face of organised trafficking and demanded that accountability be fixed for officials who failed to detect the unit earlier.

 

Association for Voluntary Action’s Senior Director Manish Sharma said the minors appeared famished and bruised, noting that this was the second raid in three months. He argued that the absence of strong charges in earlier legal action emboldened those operating the establishment. The July raid at the same unit had resulted in rescue of several labourers, yet no release certificates were issued and no substantive legal action followed. With fresh evidence gathered over months, the NGO escalated the matter to the NHRC, leading to the rescue. Legal teams are now preparing to push for stringent charges related to trafficking, bonded labour and hazardous employment of minors. Officials indicated that further arrests are likely as the investigation widens to identify the entire network of agents and operators.