Eight girls, aged between 13 and 17, were rescued by the Railway Police Force (RPF), Government Railway Police (GRP), and the Anti Human Trafficking Unit (AHTU) from the Secunderabad Railway Station in Telangana on Monday, June 12. Two adults from Chandrayangutta in the city were allegedly returning after taking the girls to Khammam to serve food at the Telangana Non Gazetted Officers (TNGO) function hall, when the officials intervened.
However, news wrongly spread on social media that 11 minor Muslim girls were arrested by the RPF and GRP for unknown reasons. The allegation was later picked up by local news organisations, further fuelling the misinformed narrative.
Hyderabad Child Protection Officer M Srinivas told TNM that the AHTU, Bachpan Bachao Aandolan (BBA), and the National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR) along with railway police officials were part of a month-long rescue drive and as such were at the railway station. At 11.30 am on Monday, they questioned the accused Khadija Begum (36) and Mahmud Jaleel (40) who were travelling with the girls, on grounds of suspicion.
When one of the minors said they were returning from work, officials intervened and handed the children over to the Child Welfare Committee (CWC), who in turn left them in the care of the government children’s home for girls in Nimboliadda. The father of one of the rescued girls also confirmed that his daughter was being taken for child labour, and told TNM that he was grateful for the intervention of the police and CWC officials.
In keeping with the Child Labour (Prohibition and Regulation) Act, 1986 which only prohibits employment of children aged below 14 (except in family based jobs), the CWC had reunited three minors above the age of 14 with their respective parents on June 13. The remaining five girls, who were under 14, were provided counselling along with their guardians.
“The mothers of three of the girls were widowed, which is why the children were sent to work. The CWC counselled them against child labour and put the mothers in touch with the Society for Rural Development (SRD) for job and vocational training. They finally released the girls back to their mothers’ care on Friday,” said CWC chairperson Shailaja Gonbayala.
A case was registered under Sections 370 (trafficking of persons) and 374 (unlawful compulsion of any person to labour against their will), read with Section 34 (criminal act done by several persons in furtherance of common intention), of the Indian Penal Code (IPC). According to the police, the accused are currently absconding and further investigation is ongoing.