CHANDIGARH: In a joint operation by the Chandigarh Police and the District Child Protection Unit, 11 child labourers were on Wednesday rescued from grocery shops, tea stalls and boutiques in Sector 45 of the city. All the rescued children are boys aged between 12 and 17 years.
On the complaint of the child protection unit, the Sector 34 police has registered a case under the provisions of Juvenile Justice Act and Child Labour Act, 1986 against 10 shopkeepers. The cops said they are verifying the documents and other facts and after that they would initiate the process to arrest the guilty employers.
The accused named in the case include Sanjeev, Raman, Gaurav, Honey, Guarav Kumar, Satbr Goyal, Suman, R K Sharma and Harinder Singh.
Officials said the District Child Protection Unit had been receiving complaints of child labourers working in the Burail area, following which their teams launched a special drive in Sector 45 and rescued a total of 12 children.
However, one of them was later found to be over 18 years and he was allowed to work. The other 11 were minors. The police got their medical examination conducted soon after rescuing them.
All the rescued children were produced before the Child Welfare Committee and then handed over to their parents.
Even on January 19, the District Child Protection Unit, in a joint operation with the police, had rescued 12 child labourers from the same area.