As many as 163 minor boys allegedly being trafficked from Bihar to Maharashtra were rescued from an express train in Madhya Pradesh’s Katni district by railway police.
According to a PTI report, the children, aged between six and 13 years, were reportedly being taken for labour work in Latur when the Railway Protection Force (RPF) and Government Railway Police (GRP) intercepted them on Saturday night following a tip-off from the Child Welfare Committee (CWC), officials said.
In a joint overnight operation, RPF and GRP personnel stopped the group of eight persons travelling with the minors without valid tickets or documents on board the Patna–Purna Express at Katni railway station, PTI reported.
RPF Katni inspector Virendra Singh said to the news agency that initial inputs suggested the children were being transported from Bihar’s Araria region to Latur in Maharashtra for labour work. He said authorities acted after receiving intelligence about possible trafficking and grew suspicious due to the absence of travel documents.
Following the interception, GRP registered a case against the eight accused under Section 143(4) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), relating to trafficking of a child below 18 years. All the accused are said to be from different districts of Bihar.
According to officials cited by PTI, the CWC had alerted authorities after receiving information about a large number of children being moved under suspicious circumstances. Security personnel then waited for the train at platform number 5 and conducted a search upon its arrival, taking the minors into safe custody.
Child Protection Officer Manish Tiwari said the rescued children were being counselled, while efforts were underway to contact their families. Some of the children have been placed under child protection units in Katni and Jabalpur as verification of their identities continues.