800 child labourers rescued after searches at 16,951 locations in Karnataka

BENGALURU: As many as 800 child labourers have been rescued by the police in a statewide crackdown at 16,951 locations after Chief Minister DK Shivakumar’s recent surprise visit to the Yeshwanthpur Agricultural Produce Market Committee (APMC) yard, where he noticed children working and directed officials to take immediate action.While Bengaluru topped the list with 503 child labourers being rescued by the city police, 72 children were rescued in Vijayapura, 33 in Tumakuru, 27 in Koppal, 22 in Kalaburagi, 15 in Ballari and 13 in Mysuru.The special operation, which began at 10 am on Saturday in Bengaluru city, was led by DCPs from all 11 police divisions, along with two DCPs from the Central Crime Branch (CCB). Police teams inspected and raided 5,897 locations, including commercial establishments, industrial areas, factories, shops, garages, construction sites, hotels, petrol stations, malls and other establishments, where children may have been employed.Eighteen cases were registered against shop owners who had engaged child labourers, under the provisions of the Child and Adolescent Labour (Prohibition and Regulation) Act and the Juvenile Justice Act.The crackdown follows the chief minister’s early morning visit to the APMC market on September 8. He interacted with farmers, workers and traders and heard their grievances. Noticing that children had been working at the market, he directed the police and other officials to take action against establishments employing child labourers and ensure that the children were rescued.