RPF rescued more than 8,800 children in last five years

NT Correspondent | NT

Bengaluru: On average, at least one child is rescued every eight hours across the South Western Railway (SWR) network.

Data shared by the Railway Protection Force (RPF) show 8,819 children, including 755 girls, have been rescued at the railway stations in the city in the last five years.

Recently, the RPF at Krantiveera Sangolli Rayanna Station in Bengaluru rescued two 13-year-old school children who had come from Assam.

As per the Additional Divisional Railway Mana g er (Beng alur u Division), Kusuma Hariprasad, one of the boys wanted to meet his brother who works at a factory in Bengaluru.

He took his friend along with him and travelled over 3,000 km to reach Bengaluru without informing the parents.

Luckily, the RPF found the boys travelling without a guardian and following an inquiry, informed their parents. The boys were reunited with their parents, the official said.

Kusuma said that there have been incidents where children in the age group between 12 to 16, mostly hailing from North India come to Bengaluru due to various reasons.

There were also cases of young girls eloping with their boyfriends. However due to constant watch and following tight security, the RPF has rescued these children.

Children unaware of risks: A senior official from the security division of the SWR, said they have formed dedicated child rescue teams in order to keep children from falling into the trap of criminals.

"Many traffickers consider railway stations as an easy escape route. Most children rescued at Bengaluru railway stations are from states such as Bihar and Odisha, while many are also from Nepal. Those rescued include run-away children, orphans, trafficked kids and child labourers," she said.

"Once they are brought here, traffickers employ them in places like brick kilns and other factories as bonded workers providing them with insufficient food and money. Children, particularly girls, are also being brought here for organ trade, forced prostitution and begging," the official said.

In Bengaluru, most children are rescued from stations like Majestic, Yeshwantpur and Cantonment.

A specially trained team has been formed to track and identify child traffickers as well as suspicious people with children at these stations, the official added.