Thirteen minors including a pregnant 14-year-old girl trafficked from Jharkhand were rescued from Delhi, a state government statement said on Tuesday.
Of the 13 minors rescued, 12 are girls and all hail from Khunti district, some 40 km from state capital Ranchi, an official statement from the state government said.
The nodal officer of Integrated Rehabilitation Resource Center (IRRC), New Delhi, Nachiketa, said that a joint team of Social Welfare Department, Child Protection Department and Anti-Human Trafficking Unit rescued the minors during raids at various places in Delhi during the last fortnight.
There is one 14-year-old girl among the children who is three months pregnant.
Quoting Anti Human Traffic Unit officials, the statement said that the teams ensured proper payment of wages to not only the rescued 13 minors but also to seven women who were rescued during an-trafficking drive earlier in the national capital.
The action was initiated at the instance of Khunti Deputy Commissioner Shashi Ranjan and Superintendent of Police Aman Kumar on the directions of Chief Minister Hemant Soren, it said.
"During the course of raids, several placement agencies were unearthed which were operating illegally. Action will be taken against them," the statement said.
The rescued minors are being brought to Jharkhand, the release said, adding they will be rehabilitated.
"The rescued girls in Delhi were brought through brokers. Such middlemen are very active in Jharkhand, who lure young girls to Delhi by promising them a good life in Delhi and in turn sell them on the pretext of employing them in different houses. While the middlemen get huge sum the lives of these girls turn miserable," the statement added.
After the children are sent to Jharkhand they will be continuously monitored through the Village Child Protection Committee (VLCPC) connecting them with the welfare schemes, sponsorship, foster care and Kasturba Gandhi Residential Girls Schools, it said.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
