Date:06/01/2008

13 child labourers rescued from paper mill
Staff Reporter
HYDERABAD: Inspection of a paper mill following the death of a child labourer due to alleged negligence of management led to the rescue of 13 of his ‘colleagues’ at Medchal on Saturday.
All the rescued child workers were in the age group of 11-14 years and hailed from Dharbhanga and Madhubani districts of Bihar. While two labour contractors of Bihar, Kamlesh Kher Jha and Chandrashekhar Jha, were arrested on charge of hiring the children, the Limra paper mill owner Mohd. Afroz was absconding, the Cyberabad DCP (Alwal) Mahesh Bhagwat said.
Thirteen-year-old Mohd. Shakeel working in the factory located at Kishtapur died on Friday after he was hit by a conveyor belt. A case under section 304-A (rash and negligent act resulting in death) and 374 (unlawful compulsory labour) of the Indian Penal Code was registered. Shifted to hospital
Later, Medchal Inspector Mohd. Rafiq inspected the mill jointly with the officials of the Factories and the Labour departments to ascertain facts. They found 13 more children working in the mill and rescued them. The children were shifted to the Government hospital for age determination test.
The children would be lodged in Ashrita rescue home in Petbasheerabad till they are reunited with their respective parents.
The DCP said each rescued child worker would be provided a financial assistance of Rs. 10,000 as per Government norms.
“We are writing to the Government to close down the mill since employing children in hazardous units is a serious offence,” Mr. Bhagawat said.

Print Story
Cross-border trafficking racket involving girls from AP busted
PIA CHANDAVARKAR
Posted online: Friday, January 04, 2008 at 0000 hrs IST
Pune, January 3The Andhra Pradesh Crime Investigation Department (CID) along with the Pune Police on Thursday busted a major cross-border trafficking racket operated in Pune, with women being trafficked from tribal-dominated districts in Andhra Pradesh. While the exact number of those arrested will be finalised only after further investigation, Andhra Pradesh Superintendent of Police Sumita B told The Indian Express that at least 10 traffickers and 40 victims have already been taken into custody.
Based on complaints received from victims in the AP districts of Anantapur, Chittur, and Kadappa who had escaped from brothels in Pune, the Andhra Pradesh CID tipped off local police as well as NGOs. Simultaneous raids were then conducted at various locations in the city’s Budhwar Peth area on Thursday afternoon, and at least 100 women were arrested. Some of those from states other than AP were released. The victims, including six minors, will now be taken back to AP for counseling, while the accused will be produced before court on Friday.
“These arrests are part of a continuous exercise in various cities, involving the transport of minor and major girls across the AP border. There are many instances of girls who have been brought by their parents or relatives, who are in turn often tricked by the agents here. These trafficking operations have been going on for a minimum of two years, going up to even 20 years in some cases,” Sumita said.
CID officials said the girls mostly hailed from economically backward tribal areas of Andhra Pradesh. “The racket is operated across various cities, but Pune has the highest number of trafficking cases from Andhra Pradesh,” a female official from the CID said.
Detailed counseling will now be given to the victims in Andhra Pradesh. “The AP government has many schemes to rehabilitate those victims of the sex trade who express interest for the same. Apart from Rs 10,000 in cash that is given to each victim, housing and employment is also provided to them. Moreover, NGOs are also authorised to provide them with necessary items like clothing, and even assist them in getting reintegrated with their families,” Sumita said.
The Faraskhana police station, where the women were brought, was a scene of complete chaos as the arrested women raised protests that they had not been given any food or water since the arrests were made. “We were not even given an opportunity to bring our belongings and have just locked our houses,” one of them said. Some NGO members also expressed displeasure at the manner in which the procedure was being carried out, and the treatment meted out to the victims.
Faraskhana senior police inspector VT Pawar denied this, saying that the arrested had been provided with bananas and ‘vada pav.’ In fact, these items had been brought in by local NGOs after the women protested