Kerala - Thiruvananthapuram   

Crackdown on forced begging, child labour

Staff Reporter

RESCUED: Children rounded up by the police for begging being provided shelter at the Mahila Mandiram, Poojappura, in the city. — Photo: C. Ratheesh Kumar

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Nearly 20 children, including 14 girls, have been rounded up by the police here on Friday following a directive issued by the Chief Judicial Magistrate on January 25 to arrest persons who force children into begging.

The children, mostly aged between six and 12, were picked up by the police from Thampanoor, Thiruvallom, Varkala and Kovalam beach as they were being used for begging and child labour.

While the girls were sent to Mahila Mandiram, a shelter home in Poojappura, the boys have been offered care and protection at the Juvenile Home. The persons who engaged them for begging and other unlawful activities were sent to the Central Prison.

The children hail from Bihar, Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka. According to the authorities of the Social Welfare Department (SWD), the children will be handed over to the Juvenile Justice Board of the respective States after the disposal of the case.

However, the authorities are yet to ascertain how the children reached the State. "We are gradually collecting the relevant information. But most of them do not seem to know how they ended up in Kerala," said an official who did not want to be identified.

The drive against using children for begging has been launched as part of effectively implementing the Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act 2000. The Magistrate also directed the police to file a charge-sheet within 15 days.

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