JOIN US42 children from Assam rescued in Sikkim; 2 arrested
A total of 42 children from Assam have been rescued in Sikkim and brought back to the state on Friday, Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said.
The parents of the children, hailing from four villages of Chirang district along the Indo-Bhutan border, were lured by two persons who assured that their education would be taken care of, but they ended up as domestic helps, Sarma told reporters here.
The two accused have been arrested and during interrogation, one of them claimed that in the last two years, 80 children have been trafficked from the state, with some sent to Dubai as well, officials said.
The operation to rescue the children was initiated by Chirang Police under the guidance of Bodoland Territorial Council Chief Promod Bodo and Special DGP L R Bishnoi, while Sikkim Police provided the necessary help and cooperation.
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Most of the children, in the age group of 9 to 18 years, are Adivasis and Bengalis, while some belong to the Koch Rajbongshis and Bodo communities.
"We are also trying to locate the other children who had been trafficked, and this kind of operation will continue... Trafficking is a matter of concern and we will require a state policy to deal with it," Sarma said. "The state government is committed to eliminate the ills of human trafficking from Assam, and more operations will be launched to bust such networks and deal with those involved in the crime sternly," he added.
Since the last two months, the Assam government has launched a crackdown on trafficking along with drugs and cattle smuggling, and has achieved initial success, he said. So far, 107 people have been rescued during this period, the chief minister added.
The rescued children - including 18 girls and 24 boys - were produced before the Child Welfare Committee (CWC) at Chirang on Friday before being brought to Guwahati for an interaction with Sarma.
"The BTC chief and I will meet their parents in the next four to five days and take a call on whether the children would go back to them or stay in residential institutions. The government will make necessary arrangements for their education," he said. The chief minister further said the state government will adopt a policy for rehabilitation of children who had been trafficked and rescued to secure their future.
Meanwhile, the North East Frontier Railway said in a release that the Railway Protection Force successfully rescued 228 people, including minors, from trains and stations during 2020. Till July 21 this year, RPF has come to the rescue of 272 people, it said.