Bengaluru, Sep 8 (PTI) As many as 19 children from different parts of the country working as child labourers at an APMC yard in the city were rescued after Karnataka Chief Minister D K Shivakumar, who visited the area, was informed about the issue.
Police said the rescued children included 13 from Bihar. They were employed at the Agricultural Produce Marketing Committee (APMC) yard at Yashwanthpur in the city.
The action followed Shivakumar’s visit to the APMC yard in the morning to assess the problems faced by the labourers, farmers and traders working there.
During public interaction, people working there brought to his notice, the prevalence of child labour there. The CM directed authorities to look into it and nab the culprits.
The police swung
into action following Shivakumar’s direction and cracked down on those who employed these children.
Police said they rescued 19 child labourers, comprising 13 from Bihar (12 boys and a girl), two each from West Bengal and Uttar Pradesh, and one boy each from Rajasthan and Karnataka.
“In this connection, four cases have been registered at RMC Yard Police Station against the shop owners who had employed child labourers, under the provisions of the Child Labour (Prohibition) Act and the Juvenile Justice Act, and further investigation is underway,” police said in a statement.
In addition, five cases have been registered against shop owners under the Child and Adolescent Labour (Prohibition and Regulation) Act, 1986, and investigation was on, the statement added.
Further, 10 children found working on the roadside were rescued and produced before the Child Welfare Committee, for further necessary action. PTI GMS GMS SA
