Police rescue 210 child beggars

BANGALORE: The city police rescued 210 child beggars from different parts of the city in a day-long rescue operation conducted on December 2. They have also detained 84 women and six men who were found accompanying the children claiming to be their relatives.Working in coordination with the Department of Child and Women Welfare and eight other non-governmental organizations (NGOs), the Police Department conducted a month-long survey and identified 282 spots in the city. On December 2, they constituted 29 teams and rescued 64 boys, 40 girls and 106 infants.“We have not yet ascertained whether the men and women accompanying these children are actually their parents. The investigation is going on. We do not know whether these children have been kidnapped or drugged and coerced into begging,” City Police Commissioner B G Jyothiprakash said at a press conference. He also said that those rescued have been sent to juvenile homes and the Child Welfare Department has taken the responsibility of providing adequate nourishment to them. He added that out of the 210, 47 children have been sent to schools under the Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan (SSA) programme.