Child Labour Trafficking Bid Foiled at Dungarpur Railway Station; 22 Minors Rescued in Midnight Operation
In a swift and coordinated midnight operation, a joint team of Childline, Railway Protection Force (RPF), Government Railway Police (GRP), and NGO Sristi Seva Sansthan successfully rescued 22 children, aged 11 to 16, from being trafficked for exploitative labour at Dungarpur railway station on Wednesday night.
The alert was sounded after RPF personnel noticed suspicious activity on the platform and received specific intelligence about a group of minors being moved under dubious circumstances. Acting with remarkable speed, the information was immediately relayed to Childline, and a combined rescue team reached the spot within minutes.
As authorities approached, three adult handlers attempted to slip away from the group. They were quickly detained. When confronted, the men initially claimed they did not know the children, while the visibly terrified minors were instructed to say they were going on a “picnic”.
However, once the children were taken aside and counselled individually in a safe environment, the truth emerged: they had been lured from remote villages with false promises of well-paying jobs at hotels, catering services, and wedding events — workplaces notorious for subjecting children to long hours and harsh conditions.
The 22 rescued children hail from socio-economically vulnerable villages in Dungarpur district, including Jhothri, Bedsa, Seemalwada, and Mewara. The three accused — identified as Jaichand, Ashish, and Sanjay — allegedly targeted families in extreme financial distress, using deceptive assurances of easy work and good wages.
All 22 minors were produced before the Child Welfare Committee (CWC) on Thursday morning. Taking serious note of the offence, the CWC directed that the children be immediately shifted to a government-run Child Care Home where they will receive shelter, counselling, medical care, and rehabilitation support.
Stringent legal action has been initiated against the three traffickers under relevant sections of the Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act, the Child Labour (Prohibition and Regulation) Act, Bonded Labour System (Abolition) Act, and the Indian Penal Code for human trafficking and criminal conspiracy.
Officials hailed the operation as a textbook example of inter-agency synergy and urged the public to remain vigilant and report any suspicious movement of children, especially at railway stations and bus stands.
“This rescue proves that when agencies work together with civil society, we can stop children from being pushed into a lifetime of exploitation,” a senior RPF officer said.
Childline and partner organisations have reiterated their zero-tolerance stance against child trafficking and appealed to citizens to dial 1098 immediately if they witness unaccompanied or distressed minors being transported in groups.
