Bengaluru: True to its name, 'Operation Smile' brought back the smiles on the faces of 200 children after they were reunited with their families last week. Over 300 children were rescued from the clutches of beggary during a massive exercise named ‘Operation Smile’ carried out across the city on August 7.
In a joint effort, after conducting a detailed verification check, the city police along with the Child Welfare Committee, Child Welfare Department and 10 NGOs, under the supervision of Additional commissioner of Police (East), P Harishekran, the children were handed over to the parents.
However, the police are closely scrutinizing those cases where a child’s distant relative or guardian appears during the verification process, suspecting that the child might be trafficked, bought or may be sold later into flesh trade.
“During the verification the police learnt that out of 300 children who were rescued from beggary, 200 were forced to beg by their own parents and guardians. We have given a stern warning to the parents, not to ruin their kids’ childhood and future. Child begging is a crime and no parents have the right to snatch their innocence and force them into begging,” said P Harishekran, Additional Commissioner of Police (East).
Operation Smile, which is in its final stages, has the city police awaiting reports from the CWC about the social verification of the remaining 63 children. Mr. Harishekran told DC that the verification process of the last batch, which has over 65 children, is nearing completion and is being carried out by CWC. The Police are yet to trace the parents.
Complex Process Of identification
It was a major challenge for the police to carry out the identification of children. The process took time as there were many aspects involved. “Police had to identify the kids on various criteria, like whether the child was begging alone, begging with parents or being sedated and forced into begging. A special team was formed consisting of 70 officers, escorts and NGO workers to identify the children and infants. Before the operation, the team had undergone extensive training to handle the child or infant.
After the rescue was completed, the children were sent to NGOs where the police had made special arrangements for their stay. “Right from milk, biscuits, feeding bottles, fruits to butter and jam, the police were well-equipped to provide basic facilities to the children. The police had also arranged for ambulances in case of emergencies,” added Mr Harishekran.
If any irregularity was found during the verification process, the accused guardian or parent involved would be booked under the Karnataka Prohibition of Beggary Act and other relevant sections of the IPC and CrPC.
