TIRUVANNAMALAI: The poor and the tribal children often fall prey to the traffickers and are lured with job offers. In one such incident, four tribal children including a 14-year-old girl were rescued by a Child Line team in Tiruvannamalai district.
On August 16 (Monday), with the purpose of engaging them in child labour activities, the children were transported from a tribal village in Vellore district to work in a farm land for cotton production in Kallakurichi district. After spotting two men who were roaming with a few children in an omni van in the Jamunamarathur hills, the local villagers felt suspicious and alerted the Child Line (1098) which further intimated its sub centre stationed atop the hills.
“A three-member team swung into action and intercepted the van at Arasavalli tribal hamlet. Upon inquiry, it came to light that the men were agents and they were taking the children - three boys and a girl - to Kallakurichi for work,” Tiruvannamalai district child line coordinator told TNIE.The team rescued the children, seized the van, and lodged a complaint with Jamunamarathur police station.
A case was registered against the agents - Muthukumar (45) and Alaguvel (41). They were arrested under Section 79 (whoever engages a child in bondage for the purpose of employment) of the Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act.Of the three boys, two were 13-years-old and the other was of 16-years-old.
All four of them are now under the care of the Child Welfare Committee (CWC), which would launch a detailed probe into the case. Preliminary probe revealed that each child was paid Rs 1000 as an advance. Since schools were shut due to the pandemic, the children were sent away for work to support their families in poor financial state, said the coordinator.The children would either be sent to a government home or with their families after taking into consideration their safety, said the coordinator.