Farm labour: Bihar man's missing sons rescued

Aparna Banerji

Advertisement

Jalandhar, April 11

Twenty days after a Bihar man began pursuit of his two children — boys aged 12 and 14 — trafficked to potato farms at Sidhwa Dona village in Kapurthala, they were finally traced to Sonbarsa in Sitamarhi distrsict of Bihar today.

Found in Sitamarhi

The minors were found at the neighbour’s house of the suspect in Sitamarhi, Bihar. He fled with them after learning about the raid (at Kapurthala). The trafficker is currently absconding. — Harkishor Rai, Sitamarhi SP

Twenty days after a Bihar man began pursuit of his two children trafficked to potato farms at Sidhwa Dona village, they were finally traced to Sonbarsa

Taken to Bihar by Bigan, the agent against whom the child trafficking complaint had been lodged by him in Bihar, the boys were rescued by the Bihar police from the home of Bigan’s next-door neighbour.

The father, along with the police and Bachpan Bachao Andolan (BBA) activists, had been camping in Punjab since April 5. A raid on Sidhwa Dona farms on April 6 led to the rescue of 13 minors.

BBA activists had raised concerns over lack of FIR against farm owners in Kapurthala and no subsequent raids despite their insistence on the presence of more children there.

The father had filed a complaint against Bigan at the Sitamarhi police station on March 23. A police team from Bihar was deputed to trace the children in Punjab. Bigan was booked under Sections 370 of the IPC; 3 and 14 of the Child Labour Act; and 75 and 79 of the Juvenile Justice Act.

Sitamarhi SP Harkishor Rai said: “The boys, both minors, were found at the neighbour’s house of Bigan. They had been brought here by Bigan after learning about the raid (at Kapurthala) and fled with them. The trafficker is currently absconding. The children were given the impression he was taking them to see their father. We had been tracking Bigan for days and he was in UP some days ago. We suspect he has trafficked many more children. Investigations are on and the agent will be apprehended soon.”

BBA actvist Yadvinder Singh said: “The trafficker fled the place with the two kids. The Kapurthala administration doesn’t seem to be taking the case seriously. We suspect 18 more children are present at the farm. The father and the Bihar team are the only ones who can track the remaining children. No FIR has been filed in Punjab. Only a DDR recording the raid was filed. There should be legal record of child trafficking in Punjab.”

Arijit Adhikari, a BBA activist from Bihar, said: “This is a huge racket and we estimate more trafficked children are involved. The same man took more children there. The children should also be considered as bonded labour as they were being made to work in fields for long hours and agricultural work by minor children is considered as hazardous occupation.”