29 minors ‘rescued’ at Ernakulam railway station

Kochi: A suspected case of trafficking in children has  surfaced in Kochi after many  such instances were unearthed in the state several months ago.    

A total of 29 minor boys in the age group of eight to 17 years hailing from various parts in North India were rescued from the Ernakulam Town railway station on Wednesday while they were being taken without sufficient documents  to an orphanage (Yathimkhana) run by a religious trust at Nettoor.

The children, hailing from Bihar, Rajasthan and Haryana, arrived in the Nizamuddin-Ernakulam Mangala Express  at 10 a.m. along with three caretakers.

The Railway Police conducted a preliminary examination of the documents submitted by the Yathimkhana employees and handed over the children to the Child Welfare Committee (CWC) members and Childline volunteers.

“Though they produced the willingness letter of the parents of the children, they didn’t have the clearance of the mandatory CWC from the home states. Further,  the children were found to be from poor families and there is a chance of influencing their parents by offering monetary benefits,” a senior CWC official said.

The CWC took the statements of the Muslim orphanage management and later shifted the children to approved orphanages in Ernakulam and Aluva.

“As of now,  we can’t term this as child-trafficking. Further probe is on, including the purpose of bringing the children,” the official said.