New Delhi- On May 30, 2023, acting on confidential information, the police arrested 59 children along with five teachers from Araria, Bihar, who were traveling to Pune and Sangli in Maharashtra.
The teachers were accused of transporting these children without parental consent, leading to charges of human trafficking. The children were sent to Childline, and after spending a month in jail, the teachers were granted bail. However, an investigation revealed a different story. The children were actually going to study in madrasas. The police have now filed a closure report admitting their mistake.
The incident occurred on May 30, 2023. The 59 children, aged between eight and 17, from Araria, Bihar, were traveling with their five teachers to study in madrasas in Pune and Sangli. They were aboard the Danapur-Pune Express when the Government Railway Police (GRP) at Manmad and Bhusawal railway stations in Maharashtra detained them on suspicion of being trafficked for labor.
In Delhi, a senior officer from the Juvenile Justice Board and Railway Board, in collaboration with an NGO, “rescued” the children and arrested the teachers.
At the time of the arrest, RPF officials claimed that the five individuals could not produce documents related to their travel, leading to an FIR under sections 370 (human trafficking) and 34 (common intent) of the Indian Penal Code.
This story was originally published in themooknayak.com. Read the full story here.