Over 300 child labourers rescued in Jan: Police

More than 300 children hailing from Telangana and different states and even Nepal, who were engaged to work as child labourers at various establishments in the city, have been rescued, police said Monday.

A total of 325 children have been rescued including 11 girls as part of 'Operation Smile' launched on January 1 for tracing missing children, child labourers and children engaged in begging, Hyderabad Police Commissioner Anjani Kumar said.

Among the rescued children, 53 children have been lodged in rescue homes while 272 have been handed over to their parents, the Commissioner told reporters.

Seven of the rescued children were below 10 years, 38 between 11-14 years while 280 children were between 14-18 years.

Seventeen teams were constituted for the operation and 14 cases booked against various establishments for engaging child labour.

A fine of Rs 6,75,365 was imposed on establishments for various violations, he said.

The rescued children were found working in different types of factories like those engaged in making bags, bangles, biscuits, bakery and electrical items, Kumar said.

Besides rescuing children belonging to Hyderabad and Telangana, 100 children belonging to other states like Andhra Pradesh, Bihar, Jharkhand and Uttar Pradesh and even Nepal were rescued during the operation, he said.

Taking a humane approach, police on its own initiative admitted three of these rescued children in schools, the Commissioner said.

He thanked the school managements which have agreed to provide free education to them.