17 minors rescued from railway station in Rajasthan

17 children have been rescued and 13 women arrested in a raid carried out by Anti Human Trafficking Cell and Child Line members from a lodge on railway station road here, police said today.
"17 children between the age group of 8 to 14 years who were forced to beg at the Kota railway station were rescued and 13 women arrested in the case today morning at the Bheemganjmandi police station area of the city," Kaniz Fatima, Circle Inspector, Kota Anti Human Trafficking Cell said.
The raid was jointly carried by Anti Human Trafficking Cell and Child Line members- a unit of women and child development department of Rajasthan, she said.

The arrested women, 8 of whom aged below 18 years used to steal expensive house-hold items from local shops, police said.
"The accused and the children have been in Kota for the last one and a half month and were staying in Sriram Lodge at the railway station. The gang of women along with the children were under the watch of Cell personnel and Child Line members for the last three days," Fatima said.
House-hold items like fresh blankets, leather bags, utensils, dresses and Rs 20,000 cash have been recovered from the lodge where they were staying, police said, adding that the accused however, have claimed that the booty was received by them as donations.

Pamphlets describing the women as victims of Uttrakhand calamity and demanding donations in Urdu and Hindi languages have also been recovered from their possession, Fatima said.

The accused also claimed that the rescued children were their own, they belong to Pali and Sojat cities of Rajasthan and their husbands were working in other cities, she added.
The children would be produced before Child Welfare Committee (CWC) at noon today, police said, adding that a case under relevant sections of Juvenile Justice Act and IPC would be lodged against the women in Bheemganjmandi police station.
Further investigation into the case is still on, police said.