Chennai: As part of the ongoing initiative since the AntiHuman Trafficking Club was set up in the city about a month ago, a young boy was rescued from a railway station on Friday.
The boy was seen crying near Park railway station by Solomon, convener and a social worker from the International Justice Mission (IJM). Solomon alerted club members and also the railway police who came to the boy's rescue immediately.
Speaking to Deccan Chronicle, Solomon said that he saw the boy going under one of the stairs and crying quietly. When they approached him, he seemed to cooperate, he said.
“He was begging and being scolded for it. Insulted, he was crying a lot. The club members alerted Childline- ‘1098’ services who also rushed to the spot.”
The boy was taken to the Child Welfare Committee (CWC) after which he has been temporarily placed in a children’s shelter home in Royapuram, Solomon said. “He did not speak much but told us that he was from Amaravati and that he wanted his mother. He also told us that his father was a construction worker and his mother was a maidservant.”
The boy also said that he came to Chennai selling samosas on a train from Amaravati and has stayed since then. “The next step is to ensure the boy is comfortable before asking him if he wants to go home or stay at the shelter home,” Solomon said.
The AHT clubs are a part of creating awareness on human trafficking. “It is the third largest crime in the world after drug smuggling and illegal arms deals but most people, even the youth are blissfully unaware,” Mohammad Shamshuddin, student convener of the AHT Club and a student of the Madras School of Social Work said.
