Forced begging: Childline rescues five children

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Childline volunteers rescued five children, who were forced into begging by their guardian, on Wednesday. They have also taken their guardian, a 25-year-old woman, into custody.
They reportedly hail from Kota district in Rajasthan. They were rescued from near Canara Bank's Pettah branch, where they were found begging for alms.
According to childline authorities, the rescued children include a 12-year-old girl, an eight-year-old boy, a seven-year-old girl, a three-year-old girl and an eight-month-old baby boy. The woman claimed that three of them were her children and the other two were her sister's kids.
"We took action after receiving a call at childline emergency helpline number '1098' around 11am on Wednesday," said S K Ratheesh, child protection officer, childline. The volunteers spotted three of the children begging on the road near Canara Bank whereas the woman was begging along with two children a few distance away.
The seven-year-old girl was dressed up like a boy, with short hair and wearing a T-shirt and a thick bracelet. She also appeared to be the most affected, standing under the scorching sun.
"The woman claimed that she arrived here with the kids several weeks ago, but, she could not recollect the exact time," Ratheesh said.
The children, along with the woman, were produced before the child welfare committee. The committee decided to send the children to shelter homes under social justice department.
The elder girls were sent to state mahila samakhya society's shelter home at Poojapura and the eight-year-old boy was sent to the government children's home in Poojapura. The three-year-old girl child was taken to the Ammathottil shelter home under state council for child welfare at Thycaud.
Even though the woman needed to be handed over to the police, the CWC chose to send her to the Athani shelter home at Vanchiyoor for the time being along with the eight-month-old baby since it needed breastfeeding.