Mumbai: Ever felt a tug at your heartstrings every time you see children begging at a traffic signal? Well, think again because they could be a part of a well-organized mafia that is counting on precisely evoking these sentiments in you using sweet-faced kids and their innocence as a business tool. Mumbai Police is cracking down on child beggars with a view to eradicate such begging syndicates. Not only that, it has tried to draw attention to children’s safety issues and is engaged in successfully rehabilitating those rescued.
Last month, it rolled out a month-long campaign, 'Eradication of Child Begging’, aiming to rescue the maximum number of children from begging at traffic signals and on busy streets. According to experts, child begging is one of the most serious social issues in the country. Lakhs of children are kidnapped, drugged, beaten and forced into begging by traffickers. The police campaign also focused on tracking down 'employers' who push children into begging, ensuring that all culprits were penalised and faced legal action.
This campaign successfully focused on the rehabilitation of children, handing over all children found begging on the street to the Child Welfare Committee, the body which decides what steps need to be taken for the welfare of the children. Mumbai Police spokesperson and the deputy commissioner of police (operations) Pranay Ashok said the campaign was rolled out after an alarming number of children were seen begging on the city streets.
DCP Ashok said, senior police officers worked in close collaboration with policemen to monitor the streets and rescue child beggars. Officers from special children police centres of the crime branch were put on standby. However, the final figures of how many children have been rescued and the number of people arrested/penalised are yet to be compiled, said Ashok.
While some children are forced into beggary by their deadbeat parents, others are part of a bigger syndicate and looked after by their handlers. Sandhurst Road, Byculla and Reay Road are some areas, where these gangs are operational. A member of the Maharashtra state commission for the protection of child rights said, "There are gangs operating in the eastern and central suburbs, who handle these child begging syndicates in the areas. When an empathetic individual gives Rs 10 to a child begging on the street, 80 per cent of the amount goes to their handler."
