The children were rescued in an operation led by NCPCR along with police teams and Association for Voluntary Action, also known as Bachpan Bachao Andolan (BBA).
Priyank Kanoongo said, “Yesterday afternoon, during an inspection in Madhya Pradesh’s Raisen district, we found 39 boys and teenagers employed in the liquor manufacturing work at the Som Distillery who had disappeared from the factory late in the evening.”
“As per the law, children rescued from child/bonded labour are presented before the SDM and their statements are recorded and a three-member bench of the CWC passes orders for their rehabilitation. We had provided all the information to the present police officers at 3:28 PM and left from there after handing over the case to DPO, SDO and Labor Department. The quorum of the CWC was not completed till late night due to which statutory orders could not be passed and it took 5 hours for the SDM Sahib to cover a distance of 20 kilometers from the district headquarters on the wide highway and it took 7 hours for the ADM Sahiba to cover the same distance. Due to their absence till late night, the police could not file an FIR and in the meantime 39 children were made to disappear from there,” he added.
कल दोपहर मध्यप्रदेश के रायसेन ज़िले में निरीक्षण के दौरान हमको सोम डिस्टलरी में शराब बनाने के काम में नियोजित मिले 39 बालक व किशोरों को देर शाम फ़ैक्टरी से ग़ायब कर दिया गया है !!!
क़ानून के अनुसार बाल/बंधुआ श्रम से रेस्क्यू किए गए बच्चों को SDM के समक्ष प्रस्तुत कर बयान करवाये… pic.twitter.com/vj8anFzzoX
— प्रियंक कानूनगो Priyank Kanoongo (मोदी का परिवार) (@KanoongoPriyank) June 16, 2024
He added, “On receiving the information, we returned late at night and even went to the police station but till 12 in the night, there was no trace of the children. Now where are these children? Who took them from under the nose of the administration, how and when will they be presented before the full quorum bench of CWC, these questions are currently unanswered.”
Earlier, Priyank Kanoongo had shared pictures and videos of the children who were found working in these factories. The skin on their hands found to be burnt due to exposure to chemicals.
“Under the Child Labor Prevention Month, on the basis of a complaint received from Bachpan Bachao Andolan @NCPCR_ an inspection was conducted today at a liquor factory named Som Distillery in Raisen district, where more than 50 children were found working in the manufacture of liquor, including 20 girls. This institute is run under the supervision of the Excise Department of the Government. The office of the Excise Officer is also located in the same campus. Due to being in contact with chemicals, the skin of many children’s hands has also been burnt. Action is being taken to rescue the children and register an FIR. Notice is being issued to the government to take action against the excise officer,” he had tweeted.
