Jabalpur railway station
Jabalpur: As many as 163 minors on their way to a madrasa were allegedly picked up by the police in Madhya Pradesh from different railway stations on April 10.
The 163 children, all aged 10 to 14, were taken after the Child Welfare Committee (CWC) received a complaint of unauthorised travel of minors at the Jabalpur and Katni Railway Station.
The minors were from the Jokihat area in Bihar‘s Araria district and were travelling from Patna Junction to study in madrasas in other states. The group was travelling with eight adults.
Speaking to Siasat.com, an official from the Katni Railway Police Force, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said that it was suspicious that so many children were travelling without their parents or guardians.
“CWC ko ek complaint ayi thi ki bohot saare minor baacho ku train me lekar jaarahe they (CWC received a complaint that several minor children were being taken away in a train),” the official said. “They (CWC) arrived at the station and took them to verify if there was no malpractice going on.”
When asked if children are normally picked up from train stations for travelling without their parents, he changed his statement, claiming the situation was suspicious because a child can’t be admitted to a school without their parents being present.
“Aisi thodi hota hai ki aapke bache ko koi dusra aadmi ya padosi lekar admission dilaye (Admissions don’t just happen with a neighbour or someone else taking the child),” said the official.
“Aur unko utha nahi gaya tha (And they were not picked up),” the official asserted. “CWC ne bohot saare aise bacho ko bachaya hai, jo ma baap maarte the, aur kuch karte the. Bohot aise bacho ko bachaya hai. (CWC has intervened to rescue numerous children from situations involving parental abuse or other forms of mistreatment. Many children in such circumstances were saved.)”
According to the railway police official, the children are currently with the Committee. “Some of the children are in Katni, and others are in Jabalpur.” It is unclear in what condition the children are being held.
The official said the boys were accompanied by eight other adults, whose identity cannot be disclosed at the moment due to the ongoing investigation.
“They were en route to different madrasas in Karnataka and Maharashtra. But because they were travelling without their parents, it raised concerns,” he said.
A video emerged on social media showing the parents of the 163 children urging the Araria police to help return their children.
Mohammed Shaukat, father of one of the children taken away, said, “Hamare bache bohot ghabrayae hai abhi (Our children are very scared right now).”
Recounting the incident, he said that on April 10, the group of children, along with some parents, reached the Patna Railway Station to board the 7 am train.
“Jab hum yaha pahunche toh pata chala ki Katni junction ko kuch bacha ko utaar diya hai (After we came home, we received information that some of the children were asked to get down from the Katni junction),” Shaukat said.
Shaukat said that when their calls were not going through, everyone’s phones were switched off. “We request the government either send them back home or to the madrasa.”
“We urge the Araria government to coordinate with the Jabalpur and Katni governments to return the children safely to the madrasa,” another parent said.
“Mera baccha ko kisi ne kidnap nahi kiya hai. Me bacha ko suraksha se padhne ke liye bejhe hai aur humlog ko bacha bhot ghabrayava hai aur ma baap depression hai (Nobody has kidnapped my child. I sent my child away to study safely. Our child is very scared right now, and we parents are in a state of depression).
The Jabalpur police were unavailable for comment and have not yet responded to inquiries regarding the incident.
This post was last modified on April 14, 2026 6:57 pm