Begging racket: 6 held, 10 freed
Based on a tip-off, the CCB sleuths arrested six persons, including five women and all hailing from Rajasthan
By : DC Correspondent
Update: 2014-09-08 03:36 GMT
Bengaluru: In a drive against children being forced into begging, ten children, including four baby boys and a baby girl, were rescued from Frazer Town and Kammanahalli police station limits on Saturday night. The CCB police, along with an NGO Freedom India, conducted raids at several places near Frazer Town and Kammanhalli area.
Based on a tip-off, the CCB sleuths arrested six persons, including five women and all hailing from Rajasthan, while the man was from Tamil Nadu. During interrogation it came to light that the accused used to sedate babies with sleeping pills and carry them around for begging. They used sedation to prevent babies from crying, the police said.
A senior police officer, said, "We got a few calls from sources that this racket has become rampant in crowded areas. These beggars run a syndicate with people from various states and they drug the babies and then use them to gain sympathy from the public, who would give them alms.
It is still being interrogated as to where they used to get the babies. Initially they claimed it the babies were their own, but later it was revealed that they got them from elsewhere."
"It looks like a huge racket and it is suspected that these babies were either bought from rural areas across the country or kidnapped. Similar raids will be carried out to rescue such babies," added the officer.
The police have booked the arrested under section 370 of IPC (buying or disposing of any person as a slave) and Juvenile Justice Act 23 (Punishment for cruelty to juvenile or child) and 24 (Employment of juvenile or child for begging.