A man involved in child trafficking has been arrested in Uttar Pradesh while attempting to transport six children to Vadodara for forced labour, highlighting the ongoing fight against human trafficking in India.
A man allegedly involved in child trafficking was arrested at a railway station in Uttar Pradesh's Chandauli while he was transporting six children to Vadodara via train, police said on Tuesday.
The children were rescued and handed over to the Railway Child Help Desk at the Deen Dayal Upadhyaya (DDU) Junction in Chandauli to ensure their safe return to their families, they said.
The operation was carried out by a joint team of the Railway Protection Force (RPF) DDU Junction and 'Bachpan Bachao Andolan'.
According to the police, these children were being transported via train to be employed as labourers, after their parents had been lured with promises of money.
RPF Inspector-in-Charge Pradeep Rawat said that on Monday evening, during a routine inspection of Bhagalpur-Surat Superfast Express, a man named Dinesh Mandal was apprehended while taking the children along with him.
Rawat said that upon counselling, both the children and the trafficker identified themselves as residents of the Godda district in Jharkhand.
The children revealed that Mandal had brought them from Godda to Bhagalpur at his own expense and was subsequently transporting them to Vadodara via train.
He further stated that the accused had promised the children a monthly wage of Rs 18,000 each for working 12 hours a day at a solar plant upon their arrival at the destination.
A case has been registered against the arrested accused at the Mughalsarai police station under Section 143 (Trafficking of person) of the BNS, Rawat said.