Oct. 27: Twenty-three children, allegedly being trafficked from Bethiya and West Champaran districts in Bihar, were rescued on Wednesday morning by Yeshwanthpur railway police from a train on which they were travelling, following instructions from the Karnataka Commission for the Protection of Child Rights (KCPCR).
The children — 14 from Bethiya and 9 from West Champaran — are aged between six and 10. They were brought to the city by four alleged traffickers, who were taken into custody.
Railway Circle Inspector Mary Shailaja, however, claimed that the children are studying in a madrassa in KR Pet in Mandya and most of them were returning from a vacation in their home town. Nine of them were new additions. Madrassas reopen around this time after Ramzan, she maintained.
Chairperson of KCPCR Nina P. Nayak, member Vasudeva Sharma and others, after talking to the children, directed the police to file an FIR and produce them before the Child Welfare Committee for further inquiry as required by the Juvenile Justice Act.
“Except for a letter from the village sarpanch, there was no letter of consent from the parents and the children have reportedly said that they want to go back to their parents. It is a case of suspected trafficking and the police do not have the right to take a decision in this regard. It is only the CWC that is authorised to take decisions in such cases,†said Ms Nina.
Despite instructions from the KCPCR, the Railway Circle Inspector, Ms Mary, refused to produce the children before the CWC till 7 pm and was all set to send the children to the madrassa instead. She relented only when a written order from the KCPCR chairperson to produce the children before the CWC was given.
Ms Mary later maintained that since it was a “question of law and order, we will produce the children before the Mandya CWC,†and then she sent the rescued children to the Madrassa in KR Pet.
“It is a blatant violation of the Juvenile Justice Act by the officer concerned. Since it is a suspected trafficking case, the children had to be produced before the CWC Bengaluru (Boys). The authority to transfer the case to other districts lies only with the CWC. It is also inter-state issue,†said Mr Vasudeva Sharma, member, KCPCR.