The Special Juvenile Protection Unit (SJPU) of the Mumbai police on Thursday raided a bag manufacturing factory in Nagpada and rescued seven children from forced child labour; six of them were trafficked from Nepal. Two factory owners, Jamshed Shaikh, 39, and Aftab Ansari, 27, were arrested from the spot.
The police had received a tip-off regarding child labour activities in three factories in the Madanpura area of Nagpada. After verifying the information, the SJPU raided the locality at around 11 pm on Jan 5.
The rescued children were forced to cut the rexine fabric which is used in the production of bags. The working conditions were found to be harsh, too.
All the three factories were located in the same vicinity. A pair of three children each was rescued from two units while one kid was found in another factory. All of them have been sent to a children’s home in Matunga.
A first information report (FIR) has been registered under the Indian Penal Code section 370 (whoever imports, exports, buys, sells or disposes of any person as a slave) as well provisions 75 (cruelty towards children) and 79 (exploitation of a child employee) of the Juvenile Justice Act.
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