A noteworthy triumph against purported child trafficking unfolded as the Uttar Pradesh Child Commission intercepted and rescued approximately 95 minors clandestinely transported from Bihar to Uttar Pradesh on April 26, as conveyed by an official statement.
Elaborating on the episode, Sarvesh Awasthi, Chairperson of the Ayodhya Child Welfare Committee, disclosed that the minors were intercepted on the morning of Friday by members of the CWC following intelligence provided by the Human Entry Trafficking Unit affiliated with the UP Child Commission. Awasthi underscored that out of the 95 children, the majority lacked parental consent letters, while only two were accompanied by their guardians. Furthermore, five religious leaders were found accompanying the minors.
The minors hail from the regions of Araria and Purnia in Bihar. Subsequently, all the minors were relocated to the Bal Sanrakshan Grih facility in Lucknow.
This purported child smuggling operation emerges subsequent to an earlier incident where a cohort of children from Bihar, destined for madrasas across various states, was rescued by the Uttar Pradesh State Child Commission in Gorakhpur. Priyank Kanoongo, Chairperson of the National Commission for Protection of Child Rights, relayed the news of the rescue via a post on X, stating, “Innocent children intended for madrasas in other states from Bihar have been salvaged in Gorakhpur with assistance from the Uttar Pradesh State Child Commission on directives from @NCPCR.”
“The Indian Constitution guarantees the right to education for every child, mandating compulsory schooling. In light of this, transporting underprivileged children to distant states and enrolling them in madrasas to solicit religious-based donations violates constitutional principles,” he appended.
“To curb such transgressions, it is imperative to file an FIR regarding the incident, a step yet to be taken by the Gorakhpur Railway Police,” asserted the head of the national children’s panel.