SHAHDOL: Five out of many children who were reported missing from Shahdol district are found to be working as labourers in Meerut and Muzaffarnagar towns in Uttar Pradesh and have been rescued, police said today.
Police also arrested two middlemen who were allegedly involved in the racket facilitating child labour, a senior official said.
"The children were rescued recently by a police team from Uttar Pradesh's Merrut and Muzaffarnagar towns. They were lured by the middlemen who have also been arrested," said Shahdol SP G G Pandey.
A case under section 363 (punishment for kidnapping) and 370 (Buying or disposing of any person as a slave) of IPC has been registered in this regard.
A case pertaining to a number of minors gone missing from the district had earlier been registered in Shahdol's Jaisingh Nagar and Beohari police stations, following which investigation was launched to trace the kids.
"During the investigation police came to know that they (children) were working as labourers in Purkazi village under Kamedi police station limits in Muzzaffarnagar town.
The children were taken to UP on promise of good pay but were actually paid very little," the SP said. A separate police team is probing cases related to other missing children.
The Supreme Court had recently expressed anguish over the failure of Madhya Pradesh government in taking action in tracing missing children and had asked its chief secretary to personally present in the next hearing.