'Rescue' mission ends in error of judgment

Confusion prevailed in the Gorakhpur Express at 8 am yesterday, when a concerned traveller mistook guardians of 23 children for child traffickers. It was later found out that they were being taken to a Madarsa.

Mistaken identity: The Yeshvanthpur railway police took the children and their men who accompanied them for questioning. Pic/Satish Badiger

"We initially suspected child trafficking. A woman passenger who was traveling in the same train, informed us that around 20 children were being brought to Bangalore by four persons, and it looked like child trafficking. We immediately informed the police and the child helpline, and reached the railway station to help these children," said Vasudeva Sharma of State Commission for Protection for Child Rights.

It turned out that Haroon Rasheed, custodian of these 23 children had the legal documents from the village Sarpanch. "When questioned, the custodian of these children said that the children are being taken to KR Pet in Mandya district and KR Puram to put them in a Madarsa," said Sharma.

The railway police took in the children and their guardians for questioning, and later decided to hand them to the Child Welfare Committee for further investigations.

Yeshwantpur Police Inspector Ganapathi said, "Once I got the information, I reached there and even people from Child Rights had come. Later the children were taken over by the Railway Police for further investigation."
"We have come across many such cases even earlieru00a0-- people bring children aged between 4-16 years. The children are mostly from North India and then are used for various illegal purposes," said Sharma.

Neena C Naik, President, State Child Right Commission said, "The children were handed over to the Madrasa people where they were supposed to take them in Mandya (KR Pet). They have been asked to produce these children before Makkala Kalyana Samithi in Mandya under Juvenile Justice Act. The police have spoken to some of the parents of these children in Bihar and they have confirmed that they sent them for education."

"The Samithi will look into the matter. We are also going to write to the National Commission for Child Protection to look into this as these children belong to another state," says Neena Naik.

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