BENGALURU: Almost 90 percent of children rescued from railway stations across Karnataka have been handed over to their biological parents or guardians, thanks to Aadhaar, said Security Commissioner, Railway Protection Force (RPF), Debasmita Chattopadhyaya Banerjee.
Banerjee heads the Nanhe Farishtey (Little Angels) force constituted across the State on July 1, 2017, in order to save children and women from the clutches of human traffickers.
Briefing the media at the Divisional Railway Manager’s office on Tuesday to mark 100 days of its special teams’ operation, Banerjee said that out of 505 children and women rescued, 438 belonged to Karnataka.
“We want to be sure that we are handing over the rescued child only to its family. Sometimes, the children are really young and are not even able to speak properly. Hence, right from the beginning we take the rescued child to an Aadhaar centre and obtain the fingerprints. The details of family members and address can be tracked easily which helps us in rescuing them,” she explained.
“Only if people coming to claim them are able to show these identity documents, we hand over the child to them,” the Commissioner said.There has only been one case so far when the documents did not tally. The child has been sent to the Child Welfare Committee instead.
She also made an appeal that anyone who finds a child in a suspicious circumstances should call 182, the 24x7 toll free number run by RPF.“Karnataka has emerged as the second highest in the country where children are trafficked. Kidnapping them for their organs is one of the main reasons. Forcing them into prostitution and labour is also rampant,” the Commisioner added.