Murshidabad police ensure early comeback for rescued minors
The Statesman | 15 September 2025
At a time when there are reports of multiple cases of atrocities and detention of migrant labourers from Bengal in different states for speaking Bengali, there is something to cheer about.
The good news is that three children from Murshidabad, all minors, detained at Bhopal railway station in Madhya Pradesh, were rescued in record time after a well-coordinated liaison between different agencies, NGOs, including the police, of the two states.
The underaged boys, who had gone to Bhopal in search of work in August last week, will be back home by 17 September, if the sources are to be believed.
Dhani Ram Singh Pawar, secretary, Bal Kalyan Samiti, Bhopal district, who was the one who first received the kids after being detained at the railway station, said: “We got the information through the non-government, Bachpan Bachao Andolan. Since the kids are around 15 years, they were kept at a home and an interpreter arranged to tide over language barriers. We also contacted the families. But we do not hand over such children to the parents directly, as is the norm. Protocol says, they will be handed over to the local CWC in the home state, and they will do the rest.”
In Bhopal, the CWC regularly engages in missions, where they rescue children, who come to work in factories dotting Mumbai and Ahmedabad through agents. They ensure that the rescued kids are sent back home.
“Police also take legal steps against people, who indulge in engaging these kids and also who employ them,” said Mr Pawar.
An NGO, based in Murshidabad, Orchid Foundation of India, which worked as a bridge between the police of the two states, ensured the legal proceedings are completed as early as possible.
Sohel Rana Alam, chairman of the NGO, said: “As we spoke in Bhopal, we learnt that the process is tedious and already the parents of the kids were repenting their decision to send their wards outside the state. So, we took help of Murshidabad SP Kumar Sunny Raj, who was very helpful and also, SP of Bhopal Sonakshi Saxena. Police from both the states were cooperative in speeding up the process and we expect the children will be back within the coming week.”
Raspreet Singh, additional SP, Lalbagh, West Bengal, who coordinated the case, said: “The communication was mostly between the two CWCs. We were coordinating the process. Whenever we get such critical cases, we try to act fast. We have a very different approach to such cases and do not waste any time. We talk directly with officers from other places to ensure that no one suffers. Our police are alert and we have anti-human trafficking cell, which generate awareness among the parents all the time. We also help NGOs working for such causes for early solutions.”