515 children trafficked to city in the past year

Every eight minutes, a child goes missing in India, leaving the family heartbroken and grieving forever.

Indeed, the number of missing children in the country over the last decade is two lakh, the data from Railway Protection Force (RPF) has said.

“In the last one year, the RPF team Operation Nanhe Farishthe rescued 515 children trafficked into the city for bonded and child labour,” RPF divisional commissioner Debasmitha told DH.

Operation Nanhe Farishthe is a dedicated child rescue effort started by the RPF and South Western Railway (SWR) to target human trafficking.

On Saturday, the RPF teams at SWR that started operation Nanhe Farishthe marked the Day of Missing Children by holding a flag march. RPF personnel from Bengaluru division participated in the march.

The RPF also marked the day by screening a movie on bonded labour and child trafficking.

They kick-started a signature campaign to create awareness among passengers to identify trafficked children travelling with them.

Since July 2017, the RPF teams rescued 2200 children from the clutches of criminals and cracked numerous child trafficking cases for labour, prostitution, organ trade, children lost or run away from home, besides several kidnapping cases. Last month alone, the RPF cracked five trafficking cases and a kidnapping.

On the occasion, RPF’s Bengaluru division officials urged passengers to inform them about suspicious movements of children at railway premises.

They asked them to check if children are alone or with adult escort, to ensure proper checks and prevent trafficking.

Passengers can pass on information about children to the RPF over the toll free security number 182 or childline -1098 or police/GRP on 100.