Bengaluru: As many as 19 child labourers, including children from Bihar, West Bengal, Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan and Karnataka, were rescued from shops at the APMC Market in Yeshwanthpur following directions from Karnataka Chief Minister D.K. Shivakumar on Tuesday.
The operation was launched after the Chief Minister visited the APMC Market within the limits of RMC Yard Police Station this morning and interacted with farmers, labourers and traders. During his visit, members of the public brought to his notice that children were allegedly being employed at some shops.
Following the Chief Minister’s directions, five special teams comprising Assistant Commissioners of Police, Police Inspectors of the North Division and Labour Inspectors were formed under the guidance of the Deputy Commissioner of Police, North Division, to conduct an operation at the market.
The teams subsequently rescued 19 child labourers from the APMC Market. Of them, 13 were from Bihar, including 12 boys and one girl; two were from West Bengal; two from Uttar Pradesh; and one each from Rajasthan and Karnataka.
Police said four cases have been registered at RMC Yard Police Station against shop owners who allegedly employed child labourers.
The cases have been filed under provisions of the Child Labour (Prohibition and Regulation) Act and the Juvenile Justice Act. Further investigation is underway.
In addition, five cases have been registered against shop owners under the Child and Adolescent Labour (Prohibition and Regulation) Act, 1986, and investigations have been taken up.
Separately, 10 children found working on the roadside were also rescued and produced before the Child Welfare Committee, Bengaluru, for further necessary action.
The operation was conducted under the guidance of Bengaluru City Police Commissioner Seemanth Kumar Singh, IPS, and Joint Commissioner of Police (West) C. Vamshi Krishna, IPS. It was led by DCP, North Division, B.S. Nemagouda, IPS, with the assistance of Yeshwanthpur Sub-Division ACP Renuka Prasad B.Y., eight police inspectors, seven labour inspectors and other police personnel.
The police said the operation was aimed at preventing the employment of children and ensuring their safety and rehabilitation.
CM D.K. Shivakumar had earlier directed the police to arrest, by the evening, those who employed children and those who sent them to work.
He warned that if immediate action was not taken, the concerned Circle Inspector, Dy SP, ACP and DCP, along with other police officials, would be suspended.
(IANS)
