Six minor boys rescued from confectionary factory

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Six boys forced into child labour were rescued from a confectionary unit at Konchiravila near Manacaud here on Monday.
Childline workers, who carried out the rescue operation, said the confectionary, AA Brand, had employed several more children, and the police and labour department officials would soon confirm the number of minors working there.
The rescued children, three of them below 15 and two aged 16, hailed from Tirunelveli in Tamil Nadu. The confectionery has been run by Tamil Nadu natives.
The rescue once again brought to fore the role of agents supplying minors to various units. "This is yet another case of child trafficking," Kerala Childline Forum convener Fr Joye James said. He said the repatriation of rescued children was a tough task as the CWCs in many states were inactive.
"There is no proper monitoring by CWCs in Bihar, Odisha, West Bengal and Jharkhand. Within a week, we are planning to write to the National Human Rights Commission to ensure that these states have proper CWCs to aid in repatriation of the rescued children," he said.
The rescued children have been lodged at the Don Bosco shelter home and would be produced before the child welfare committee on Tuesday. Though bruises were found on the boys, they denied subjected to any harm.
Meanwhile, two other children-aged 12 and eight-forced to work in an Aluva confectionary have also been lodged at Don Bosco. Their parents, from Thiruchendur in Tamil Nadu, could not produce documentary evidence to prove the kids were their children, and were hence refused custody of the children.