Rescued child labourers sent to children’s homes

Forty-four child labourers were working in the top floor of the bag making factory when the Bangalore Urban district officials raided the unit in Jolly Mohalla near K R Market on Tuesday.

S S Sharif, Assistant Labour Commissioner, Division 4, said that it was a clear case of bonded child labour. “We are yet to look into the circumstances under which they were brought to the city. Further investigations are on,” he said.

Six other children happened to be in the same building when the raid was conducted. “Those six were school going children and were not employed there. We handed them over to their parents after a thorough verification,” he said.

Meanwhile, Ramesh Halbhavi, Deputy Director, Department of Women and Child Development, said there were six girls among those rescued. “These children will be produced before the Child Welfare Committee (CWC) on Wednesday and they will take a decision on the matter,” he said.

Bangalore (Urban) DC G C Prakash said most of them were from minority communities. “We will first try and identify the parents of these kids. Till then, they will stay in residential schools,” he said. Meena K Jain, Chairperson, Child Welfare Committee, confirmed that the children are currently residing in the Balaka and Balakiyara Mandiras.