New Delhi, June 12 (ANI): Police with the help of a voluntary organization rescued 62 child labourers from an embroidery factory in the national capital.
Bachpan Bachao Andolan, a voluntary organization, informed the police about the children, mostly below the age of 14 years, being made to work in dingy embroidery units in the city's Seelampur locality.
"We organized this raid as per the information of an NGO. We have rescued 62 children in which 55 are below 14 years of age and 6-7 is above 14. All have been brought from Bihar, especially from Motihari district. Some of them are as small as 8-9 years," said K.R Verma, Deputy Commissioner of the capital's North East district.
Narrating their plight, the children said they were paid a meager amount of work for long hours.
"I am working here for the past two months. We were not paid, only given food. I was studying before coming here," said Ashrif.
Shamsaran, another rescued child said, "I am working for the past two months. I was getting 50 rupees for a month. I was with my parents before coming here. I was lured with better prospects so I came here."
The rescued children would be given release certificates under the Bonded Labour Act that entitles them a rehabilitation package of 20,000 rupees.
Police has launched a search to locate the owners of the factory and said they would take strict action them.
A ban in 2006 reinforced a 1986 law that forbids children from working in high-risk industries such as matchstick-making, which exposed them to hazardous fumes and chemicals.
According to the government, nearly 400,000 children have been stopped from working and "mainstreamed" into the formal education system since 1988 through special state schools that provide food, vocational training, stipends and healthcare. (ANI)
