Child Labour Bengaluru: 19 Children Rescued at Yeshwanthpur Market
Nineteen children were rescued from shops and work sites at Bengaluru’s Yeshwanthpur Agricultural Produce Market Committee market after Karnataka Chief Minister D K Shivakumar ordered immediate action against employers and those who had sent the minors to work, officials said on Tuesday.
The Chief Minister issued the directions during a surprise visit to the market, where he interacted with farmers, labourers and traders. According to the report, members of the public informed him that minor boys were working at some shops. Shivakumar then directed the police to act by the evening and warned that the Circle Inspector, Deputy Superintendent of Police, Assistant Commissioner of Police and Deputy Commissioner of Police concerned could face suspension if action was not taken promptly.
Five special teams comprising police and Labour Department officials were subsequently formed under the supervision of Bengaluru North Division Deputy Commissioner of Police B S Nemagouda. The teams carried out a search operation across the market and rescued 19 children, police said.
Among those rescued, 13 children were from Bihar, including 12 boys and one girl. Two children were from West Bengal and Uttar Pradesh, while one child each was from Rajasthan and Karnataka, according to the report.
Police registered four cases at the RMC Yard police station against shop owners under the Child Labour (Prohibition and Regulation) Act, 1986, and the Juvenile Justice Act. Five additional cases were registered against shop owners under the Child and Adolescent Labour (Prohibition and Regulation) Act, 1986.
The enforcement teams also rescued 10 children working on the roadside and produced them before the Child Welfare Committee, police said. The supplied report does not specify whether these children were included in the total of 19 rescued from the market or represented a separate group.
The action followed the Chief Minister’s inspection of the market and his direction that employers and those responsible for sending children to work face legal action. The rescued children were placed before the Child Welfare Committee as the police and Labour Department continued proceedings under the cited child labour and juvenile justice laws.
