Hyderabad: The Railway Protection Force, Secunderabad, rescued eight teens who were being trafficked from Uttar Pradesh and Rajasthan to the city in Telangana Express, taking the tally past the 150-mark this year.
The RPF also detained four traffickers, in the operation conducted in collaboration with Bachpan Bachao Andolan, an NGO.
The operation was based on intelligence generated from continuous data analysis by the RPF's cyber cell, said RPF senior divisional security commissioner, Secunderabad, Debashmita C. Banerjee.
The children, aged between 14 and 18, were meant to be put to work in construction sites for laying floor tiles, plaster of Paris ceiling and glass polishing units at very low wages.
Banerjee said in a statement that last year, RPF-Secunderabad had rescued 23 children and arrested six traffickers. This year, so far, the RPF-Secunderabad had rescued 151 children, which marked a 556 per cent increase. There was a 1,050 per cent increase in the number of traffickers arrested this year, at 69, the statement said.
