Child labour case: Farah was sold by her parents

Hyderabad: An initial inquiry by the Andhra Pradesh State Minority Commission (SMC) into the case of Farah, the 11-year-old rescued child labour, has revealed that she had been purchased from her parents at an very young age. Farah had been rescued earlier this month from an abusive employer who had kept her as a domestic help.

“I was informed that my parents had sold me to the owners. After some time, I was told that my parents had died in an accident,” Farah told a doctor from APSMC.  She also recalled a document, which the employer had showed her as proof of the “purchase.” The APSMC doctor has submitted a detailed a report on Farah’s status.

“Farah has stitches near her eye and many other bruises on her body. She was abused physically and under-fed,” said Abid Rasool Khan, chairman of SMC. He added, “Investigation into the case should be expedited and the accused punished as per law.”

Achyuta Rao of the State Commission for Protection of Child Rights (SCPCR) claimed that in their independent inquiry they had found that “Farah wasn’t the first domestic child help who had suffered under this employer. The family had two other kids as domestic helps prior to this as per our sources”.

A resident of the same colony, who was approached by Farah, had tipped off SCPCR about her plight. The police, meanwhile, are yet to register a case.

An investigating officer from Humayunnagar said that “a confusion regarding which police station the area falls under has delayed the proceedings”.

He added, “We will record the statement of the girl at the earliest and follow up.”