Admn rescues 18 children from begging during raids
A committee formed by Deputy Commissioner Himanshu Jain conducted raids at key locations in Ludhiana on Sunday rescuing 18 children found begging with adults.
The initiative, part of Project Jeevanjot 2.0, aims to verify familial relationships through DNA testing to curb child trafficking and exploitation for begging. The raids targeted high-traffic areas, including the railway station, bus stand and Chaura Bazaar.
District Child Protection Officer (DCPO) Rashmi Saini, who led a joint operation with the Ludhiana city police, Railway Protection Force, representatives from Childline and Bachpan Bachao Andolan (BBA), said adults found forcing unrelated children to beg would face strict legal consequences. DNA tests would be conducted and during the 15-20 days period for results, rescued children would be safeguarded in government child care home, Doraha.
Saini said the DNA tests would be carried out from Monday at the Civil Hospital. She emphasised that if DNA reports confirm adults were not biological parents, stringent action would be taken under anti-trafficking and child protection laws. She highlighted that Punjab was pioneering the initiative and becoming the first state to implement such a drive to eliminate child trafficking and exploitation through begging.
Sandeep Singh from BBA, Manpreet Singh, Prabhjot Kaur, Manpreet Kaur, Varinder Singh, Kirandeep Kaur, Gagandeep Singh, Rajinder Singh from Childline, Manoj Kumar from RPF and Tarsem Singh were among those others present.
The committee formed by the Deputy Commissioner is led by Additional Deputy Commissioner (Urban Development) Rupinder Pal Singh. The committee included the District Child Protection Officer, District Education Officers (Secondary and Primary), the Civil Surgeon and representatives from the Commissioner of Police office and the MC, Ludhiana.
On Friday, the Punjab State Commission for Protection of Child Rights Vice-Chairperson Gunjeet Ruchi Bawa announced the launch of Project Jeevanjot 2.0, a transformative initiative aimed at safeguarding the rights and welfare of children across the state and directed the formation of district-level task forces in every district to realise initiative’s objectives.
Each task force will be chaired by the Deputy Commissioner and comprise key officials, including the Commissioner/Superintendent of Police, Civil Surgeon, DEO and District Labour Officer. Operating under the PSCPCR’s guidance, the task forces would receive comprehensive support and coordination to ensure effective implementation of the project.
Some show Aadhaar cards, still identity questionable
During raid, some adults shown their Aadhaar cards which seemed to be fake and officials of the district Child Welfare Department seized the documents for verification purpose. Some people caught near the railway station said they came from Ajmer Sharif but why they stopped in Ludhiana raised suspicion over their identity and purpose.
“We came to Ludhiana for doing some labour work from Bihar but were caught by the police near the railway station. We have Aadhaar cards and identity proof, still we are detained by the authorities,” said some migrants caught by the police.
“We will verify Aadhaar card of every individual. If the same is found fake, the department will take action accordingly. Possibility is there that detained children could have been kidnapped from somewhere and they are forced into begging. Let the department conclude the investigation and no one will be spared,” the DCPO said.
Child beggars get active during evening hours
It is learnt that child beggars usually turn active during evening hours at busy markets, traffic lights and outside temples. The department needs to conduct raids during late evening hours, if they seriously want to unearth the begging racket. It is also observed that women who used to carry children outside temples or at traffic light points disappeared from the day the government announced to conduct DNA testing. Children in laps of women could be seen always sleeping as they are seemingly drugged by the women who beg money to feed the children.
Ludhiana