Mysuru: Apart from providing security to railway passengers, the Railway Protection Force also rescues hundreds of children who are often found loitering in trains or railway stations. In just 18 months, the Mysuru division of the Railway Protection Force has rescued more than 394 children who were found wandering about in the railway stations and in moving in trains that are under the purview of the Mysuru division.
The RPF (which has formed special teams to trace these children) has rescued and turned over most of them to their respective parents. The rest of the children have been handed over to the Child Help Line services, who in turn relinquished to them to the care of the Child Welfare Committee headed by Deputy Commissioner Abhiram Sankar.
After counselling the children and obtaining information about their parents, the Child Welfare Committee has successfully reunited most of the children with their respective families.
Railway Protection Force (Mysuru division) Divisional Security Commissioner KS Kabbur said, “We have a special team called ‘Operation Nanhe Farishte’, a dedicated child rescue initiative by the RPF, which is exclusively for rescuing children. After given the necessary care such as food, rest, medical examination, and counselling, the children are produced before the Child Welfare Committee which later reunites them with their respective families.”
“In the Mysuru division, the children who are rescued have not been involved in child trafficking of any kind. Instead, they find themselves at a railway station due to various reasons such as quarrels with parents, unhappy hostel life, exam stress etc. In 2018, we managed to rescue 281 children including 256 boys. This year, from January to June, we have rescued 113 children including 98 boys. Almost 95 per cent of the rescued children are handed over to the child help desk,” he added.
Children have been rescued from the Arasikere and Davangere stations as well, however, over 70 to 80 per cent of the children have been rescued from the Mysuru Railway Station alone.
