131 children employed as labourers rescued from mushroom manufacturing unit in Raipur

Raipur, Nov 18 (PTI) Authorities have rescued 131 children, who were employed as labourers at a mushroom manufacturing unit in Raipur district of Chhattisgarh, police said on Tuesday.

The operation was conducted on Monday by a joint team of the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC), Women and Child Development (WCD) Department and local police, they said.

This joint team rescued 131 children -- 86 girls and 45 boys, mostly teenagers -- from Mojo Mushroom manufacturing unit in Pikridih village, Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP) Nandini Thakur, in-charge of Anti-Human Trafficking Unit (AHTU) of Raipur police, told PTI.

Most of the children hailed from the tribal regions of West Bengal, Odisha, Madhya Pradesh, Jharkhand and Assam, she said.

"They were trafficked from their home states and employed here by the local agents," Thakur said.

The action was taken following the directives of the NHRC, the official said.

A thorough investigation into the matter is being conducted by the Child Welfare Committee (CWC), and its report will be submitted to the NHRC, she said, adding that further course of action will be taken as per the NHRC directives.

A similar raid was conducted at the same unit in July this year, the police official added.

A case under sections sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) was lodged against four persons of the mushroom manufacturing unit, Thakur said. PTI COR NP