NEW DELHI: The Railways has rescued more than 16,000 minors, including over 3,000 girls, who had run away from their homes over trivial issues or minor spats with their parents between 2024 and June 2025.
Under Operation ‘Nanhe Faristey’ in 2024, over 10,000 teenage boys and 3,000 teenage girls were rescued from trains and railway areas. This year, till June, 4,177 boys and 1,911 girls have been brought to safety after they fled their homes over trivial concerns.
A senior railway official told this newspaper that 69 kidnapped children were also rescued in 2024, with 20 more in 2025 till June. During formal interrogation before being handed over to the concerned local administration or their parents, it was found that most of them had run away after being reprimanded by their parents for not taking their studies seriously or for securing poor marks, or for other minor reasons.
“Many of them were lured by people to come to metro cities for decent work,” remarked a railway source. In 2024, as many as 7,570 teenage boys and 3,344 girls fled their homes and were rescued by Railway police personnel from railway areas and trains after they were seen loitering or appearing depressed and alone.
Compared to the number of runaway girls and boys rescued by the railways in 2024, the railway authorities rescued 4,177 teenage boys and 1,911 teenage girls in 2025 (up to June) from the railways.
In total, 10,914 teenage boys and girls were rescued in 2024, compared to 6,088 runaway boys and girls rescued by June 2025. In addition, as a railway official noted, 65 teenage boys who were kidnapped from various locations in 2024 were also rescued, compared to just 7 in 2025 (up to June). Similarly, the railway police rescued 69 kidnapped teenage girls in 2024, followed by 13 up to June 2025.
The number of minors left behind during their journeys also drew attention after they were recovered by the railway police in 2024 and up to June 2025. “A total of 844 minor-aged boys who were missing or left behind at stations or on trains were recovered in 2024, compared to 405 in 2025 (up to June). Likewise, under Operation ‘Nanhe Faristey’, the railways recovered 436 minor girls in 2024, followed by 222 recovered in 2025 (up to June), who had been left behind at stations or on trains mistakenly,” remarked a railway official.
Furthermore, the railway also rescued significant numbers of children in need of care and protection. “We rescued 1,399 missing minor boys between 2024 and 2025 (up to June), and 659 minor girls who went missing during the same period,” said another source.