More runaway kids coming to Bengaluru

The number of migrant and runaway children coming alone to Bengaluru is on the rise. Every day, NGOs and police rescue at least 20 vulnerable children from bus stands and railway stations

Migrant and runaway children are arriving in Bengaluru in huge numbers, and they have nowhere to go once they are here.

According to Bosco, an organisation that rescues children, at least 10 to 12 children are found at bus stands and 20 at railway stations every day.

Railway Protection Force officials say a majority of children arriving here on their own are between 10 and 12 years.

“Almost 70 per cent of child migrants are trafficked in one form or the other. The bulk of trafficked children are migrant labourers,” says Fr Mathew Thomas SDB, Executive Director, Bosco.

Many children arrive in Bengaluru on the basis of assurances from people living here and originally from their hometowns.

Some children have heard fascinating stories about the city, and come to see if they can find a livelihood here.

Rescue teams are at work at the city’s railway stations. According to Railway Protection Force data, 2,800 children have been rescued from Bengaluru under the recently launched ‘Operation Nanhe Farishte’ in last one and half years.

Debashmita Chattopadhyay Banerjee, RPF Bengaluru divisional security commissioner, says the operation has helped the police crack many kidnapping cases.

“Children are brought here from Rajasthan, Bihar, Delhi, Odisha, Madhya Pradesh, UP, Bihar, and even Nepal, with promises of employment and a better life. But as soon as they land here, they are trafficked for sex or employment. Most children are aged below 12 and are vulnerable to all forms of exploitation,” she says.

The children don’t understand the languages spoken here and are gullible and helpless, she explains.

RPF rescue teams are trained to identify and nab child traffickers.

“We look at body language and abnormal behaviour. The rescued children are sent to NGOs for rehabilitation and counselling before they are reunited with their families,” says Debashmita.

Most children are in distress because, among other things, they are sexually exploited on their way to the city.

“After rescuing them, we give them food and medication and it is only after we spend some time with them that they reveal details,” Debashmita says.

City Police Commissioner Alok Kumar says that children below 10 years are the most vulnerable to exploitation.

“This group can be lured and trafficked for beggary and other illegal activities. Today, thanks to the influence of social media, children above 12 are not innocent anymore. They are sharp, smart and mature. But they could be duped on the pretext of a job and later exploited,” he explains.

Alok Kumar attributes the rise in missing children cases to changing norms.

“Earlier, children had some emotional support in the joint family system. Now, everybody is hooked to cell phones and don’t set apart ‘family time’. This has reduced tolerance both among parents and children,” he reckons.

Many children who can’t cope with pressure at home run away, he told Metrolife.