Six children rescued from child traffickers from Bihar’s Sasaram; 2 arrested

The Railway Protection Force (RPF) and social activists on Thursday rescued six minors from traffickers who were taking the children on a train from Sasaram in Rohtas to Rajasthan for child labour.

The six children, four from Gaya in Bihar and two from Tilaiya in Jharkhand, were rescued from the general compartment of the train.

Two child traffickers, identified as Jitendra Kumar, a resident of Kosla Bagi village in Narhiganj and Gorelal of Raja Bigha village in Narhat (both in Nawada), have been arrested.

RPF inspector Sanjeev Kumar said his team searched the Sealdah-Ajmer Express, following instructions of the ECR senior divisional security commissioner, as the train reached Sasaram railway station.

The arrested traffickers admitted that they were taking four children to a salt factory in Ajmer and two to a cashew processing unit in Jaipur, where the children would be kept in a room and forced to work for 10-12 hours a day for a salary of ₹8,000-10,000 per month.

A case under relevant provisions of Child Labour (Prohibition & Regulation) Act and the Indian Penal Code has been registered against the arrested persons. While they are being interrogated, the children have been handed over to Child Helpline authorities.