26 child labourers rescued from Delhi's Mayur Vihar

The children were found employed under highly exploitative circumstances. They will be presented before the child welfare committee on Friday for recording statements and further action will be taken after that, officials said.

New Delhi: The district administration and police teams in east Delhi's Mayur Vihar area conducted raids at eight locations, including workshops and factories, and rescued 26 child labourers on Thursday, officials said.

The children were found employed under highly exploitative circumstances. They will be presented before the child welfare committee on Friday for recording statements and further action will be taken after that, they said.

Raids were carried out in Kondli and Ghadoli localities of Mayur Vihar where 26 children, aged between 9 and 14, were found engaged in "harsh working conditions and inadequate living spaces", at eight different locations, Mayur Vihar Sub Divisional Magistrate (SDM) Sanjay Kumar said.

"The administration had received information that children were being made to work in the area, and we promptly organised a meeting with police officials, representatives from NGO Bachpan Bachao Andolan, the Labour Department, and the Child Committee to plan the intervention," he told PTI.

During the raids, authorities discovered that the children were not only forced to work but were also denied proper accommodation, the officer said.

The rescued children were medically examined and taken to a children's home, he said.

"The children were made to work in sewing factories and large workshops of sweets and so on. We have informed the Delhi Child Welfare Committee (CWC) and all the children will be handed over to them on Friday," Kumar said.

Based on the statements of the rescued children in front of the CWC, the charges and penalties against the employers concerned will be framed. The police have been instructed to pursue legal action against those responsible for exploiting these children, he added.