RPF constable arrested for keeping missing girl as her servant

A Railway Protection Force constable has been arrested for reportedly keeping a missing child she found at a Kalyan station at her residence for housework.

According to Mid Day reports, in July, some commuters found the girl who is from Gulbarga Karnataka asking about a vague address on Kalyan Station. They took the girl to the RPF booth on Kalyan station and handed her over to Indu Kelkar. 

Kelkar, instead of reporting the matter to her seniors took the girl to her home and kept her as unpaid domestic help. On a tip-off, NGO Childline India informed Child Protection Unit who then rescued the girl. The girl is unharmed and healthy, but Kelkar has been arrested under Sections 23 (Cruelty), 26 (Exploitation) and 32 (relating to the victim’s protection) of the Juvenile Justice Act and also under relevant sections of The Child Labour Act, 1986, reports Mid Day.

Child Protection Unit is looking for a missing complaint lodged by the girl's parents. The girl claims that she left home because her stepmother used to harass her. She has been put in Bhiwandi Observation Home until further process concludes.