MP - 163 Muslim Minors Rescued From Train In MP, 8 Held For Human Trafficking
All the children aged between six and 13: Police
BHOPAL: As many as 163 Muslim minors, being allegedly trafficked from Bihar to Maharashtra, were rescued from Patna- Pune Express at Katni railway station in Madhya Pradesh late on Saturday night.
All the children aged between six and 13, police said on Sunday.
Acting on a tip off by the child welfare committee (CWC), a joint operation involving Railway Protection Force (RPF) and Government Railway Police (GRP) was launched in the train, leading to the rescue of the children, police said.
According to RPF Katni inspector Virendra Singh, initial inputs suggested that the children were being transported from Bihar’s Araria region to Latur in Maharashtra for labour work.
They were travelling in the train without valid tickets or documents and it was suspected to be a case of child trafficking, police said.
Eight people were arrested in connection with the incident, police said.
The GRP registered a case against eight accused under Section 143 (4) of Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), relating to trafficking of a child below 18 years of age.
Some of the children were kept in the child protection units in Jabalpur and Katni to verify their identities to send them to their parents, police said.