Hyderabad: 159 children, of which 135 were boys and 24 were girls, were rescued from begging on the city’s streets under the eighth phase of Hyderabad police’s Operation Muskaan.
This year, Operation Muskaan-VIII was scheduled from July 1 to July 31. Formed with the objective of saving children from begging, abandonment and child labour, police also aim to trace missing children and rescue victims of child trafficking.
The project is in action with the coordination of stakeholders like the women and child welfare department, labour department, education department, revenue department and various Non-Governmental Organisations (NGO).
As a part of the operation, 17 teams of the police department, along with labour department, women and child welfare department, child line and NGOs were formed in the five zones of the Hyderabad commissionerate.
The zonal team incharges proceeded to the areas with child beggars, and so far have rescued 159 children, who hailed from Telangana and other states like Orissa, Bihar, UP, Jharkhand, Maharastra, and Karnataka.
All the rescued children were produced before the child welfare committee. Later, they were shifted to Balvihar in Yousufguda, Child Home in Saidabad, and state home at Nimboliadda with the help of child line authorities.
In connection with the rescued children, 12 FIRs were booked against the owners of shops where children between 5 to 18 years of age were working in hazardous conditions. Further, the action was taken against shop owners who engaged children under 14 years of age to work.
Hyderabad police informed that project Operation Muskaan-VIII will be continued throughout this month to trace missing and abandoned children, beggars, and child labourers. Upon rescue, the police will reconnect the children with their parents or hand them over to concerned guardians for their well-being.
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