KOCHI: The Kerala High Court directed the state to file a report on how many children out of the 588 ‘trafficked’ from the other states were sent back to their home states, with details of their names and identity cards.
The Bench also directed the government to place on record where the children were housed and who were in-charge of them.
Additional Advocate General K A Jaleel submitted that out of 588 children, 46 were already sent to their respective home states and 31 had returned with parents. Everything was done under the supervision of the Child Welfare Committee,” the AAG submitted.
The petitioner submitted that it is the right of the children to be nurtured in their family settings and in their own culture, and sought obligations to be imposed on the state to ensure that the same are fulfilled. Illegal transfer of children from the states of Bihar, Jharkhand and West Bengal amounts to trafficking, the petitioner submitted.
“Lured by promises of education and food, the children were brought to Kerala, which is a totally alien culture and were left on the mercy of the agents and orphanage owners,” the petitioner submitted.
It is pointed out that the poor financial condition of the children’s families is also a reason for the incident.
The children did not possess valid tickets. They were brought to the state crowded in three rail compartments.
There were approximately 232 girls, of whom 68 were sent to the Mukkam orphanage. The remaining 164 girls were accommodated in local orphanages. The following day, another batch of 123 children were found to be illegally brought by train in from West Bengal, the petition filed in the court stated.