CUTTACK: Fifty-nine boys, travelling in Howrah-Puri Dhauli Express from Bihar, were rescued by the Railway Protection Force (RPF) at Cuttack railway station here on Tuesday night.
The boys, aged between eight and 16 years, belonged to Araria district in Bihar and had arrived in Cuttack allegedly on the promise of being admitted to a madrasa in the state for free religious studies, the RPF sources said.
Inspector Prabin Kumar said the boys were intercepted by the RPF while they were alighting the train at platform no 4. “The boys were alone when they were deboarding the train. Suspecting something unusual, the RPF personnel took them for questioning. The boys revealed they belonged to poor families in Bihar’s Araria district,” said Kumar.
The minors claimed that around four to five persons from their locality brought them from Araria to Katihar by a local train and then to Howrah. The minors further revealed that one Maulana from Odisha met them at Howrah and assured them that they would be admitted to a madrasa here for religious education, said the RPF inspector. Thereafter, the group boarded the train for Cuttack.
“The children stated that they were promised free religious education, lodging and boarding in the madrasa in Odisha as education in Bihar is expensive,” Kumar said.
Meanwhile, one Maulana Mahamd Akhlad, a resident of Chandapur in Raghunathpur, arrived at the station and wanted to receive the boys claiming he would admit them to a madrasa at Deuligrameswar in Jagatsinghpur. However, he failed to produce any valid documents supporting his claims, the inspector said.
The RPF subsequently informed the matter to the Government Railway Police, local police and child welfare committee (CWC), Cuttack. The boys were provided food, water and other basic necessities by the RPF staff and childline personnel.
“Later, a team from the CWC conducted a detailed inquiry. All the 59 boys were formally rescued under Operation Nanhe Faristey and handed over to the CWC for their care, protection and rehabilitation,” said the RPF inspector.
CWC chairman Manas Ranjan Biswal said the rescued boys have been rehabilitated in two shelter homes. “They were being brought from Bihar without following due legal procedure. We are also contacting the district child welfare committee (CWC) in Araria to inform the children’s parents of the matter,” said Biswal.