26 child workers rescued in Delhi

The police crackdown on the unit in Jamia Nagar area came after a rescue operation in the same area went wrong last November as a result of which 50 child labourers were forcibly taken away by their employers. As a result of that failed operation, the Delhi High Court Feb 3 directed the police to find the missing children and file a status report on it.

In a statement, child rights organisation Bachpan Bachao Andolan (BBA), which accompanied the police in the rescue operation, said: "The children, when they were found, were doing embroidery and other work on garments. Most of them were not wearing proper clothes, nor did they have any footwear and were shivering in the cold."

The children, aged between 8-15, hailed from Muzzafarpur, Darbhanga and Kishanganj districts of Bihar. They were found working in unhygienic and claustrophobic rooms.

"Eight people, who had employed the children, have been detained. However, only 26 children were rescued this time and we think that some children were removed from the place beforehand, apprehending a raid under the directions of the court," R.S. Chaurasia of BBA said.