Police after rescuing the child labourer on Hambran road in Ludhiana on Monday. (Source:Express Photo by Gurmeet Singh)
Following three complaints of Bachpan Bachao Andolan (BBA), the labour department on Monday conducted raids to rescue child labourers.
Four child labourers were rescued from different places and till filing of this report, they were at Civil Hospital for medical check-up with the BBA volunteers.
Reportedly, the doctors at the Civil Hospital refused to do medical check-up of children initially as raids concluded after 4 pm but later following the intervention of State Commission for Protection of Child Rights chairman Sukesh Kalia, they agreed for the same.
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BBA also celebrated ‘Chocolate Day’ with the rescued child labourers and gifted them chocolates.
Dinesh Kumar, a BBA volunteer, told Newsline that four child labourers were rescued who were working as bonded labourers in factories and a home.
All four children rescued were boys. A 15-year-old and a 12-year-old were rescued from Prince Linking, Bobby Colony, on Hambran road. The factory manufactures collars of women’s garments. A 10-year-old boy working as a domestic help was rescued from a home in Sher-E-Punjab Nagar, Hambran road.
Two factories on Rahon road were also raided following complaints received by the labour department but none of the child labourers were found during the raid.
Later, a 14-year-old boy was rescued from R K Bright factory, Nirankaari Nagar in Miller Ganj. Shockingly, the boy was not getting any compensation from the owner.
Although Assistant Labour Commissioner Satnam Singh accompanied the team during the raid, no FIR was registered against the owners. Only challans were issued despite the provision of lodging an FIR as per the new child labour laws.
The BBA volunteers said that the labour department did not register any FIR against the owners. “The children will be handed over to the guardians after proceedings of Child Welfare Committee (CWC). No FIR has been registered by the labour department,” said Dinesh Kumar.
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