26 children rescued, handed over to parents in Odisha

The children in the age group of 6 to 13 years age were rescued by the police from Anangapur village, near Digapahndi yesterday.

While seven children were taken back by their parents yesterday, 19 other were handed over their families today. A person from the village brought the children luring their parents promising good education in Ganjam district, police said.

Police detained A K Nayak in this connection, said inspector-in-charge of Digapahandi police station S K Gantayat.

He had brought the children on May 17 and promised to admit them in the school.

The children were, however, not admitted at any school. They were put in unhygienic condition, some of the parents alleged.

The miserable condition of the children came to light when some of the parents came to meet their kids in the village.

The district child welfare committee (CWC) will enquire into the allegation of the parents, said an officer.

Earlier as many as 35 children from Gajapati district were recently rescued from two places of Tamil Nadu. Police also arrested a middleman allegedly trafficking 12 teenaged boys from the district to Kashmir on Sunday.

Police also arrested a person to lure the parents to send their children to Tamil Nadu.