After 15 days of the observation period in the first phase of Operation Mukti, the police department with the help four anti-trafficking units has collected information of about 292 children in Dehradun. Some of these children were found begging, some selling balloons and some were involved in rag picking. A review meeting will be held on Thursday in order to make plans about the next phase of the campaign that is enforcement and rehabilitation period.
Dehradun Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Nivedita Kukreti said, “In this area about 292 children have been identified out of which 126 children have been identified who are from other states. After collecting details about their family background, the reason behind them coming here and choosing this line of work, we are starting an awareness programme. In this period we will try to identify the options available for these children with the help of different stake holders and will try to enroll them in schools to connect them with education.”
As per the sources until Tuesday out of 292 children 119 were found begging. It is also important to mention here that police department is also trying to verify whether the adults accompanying the children are actually their parents or not. After reviewing the data on Thursday if any suspicious case is found DNA test will be conducted of those claiming to parents of the child.
A review meeting will be conducted by Dehradun SSP Nivedita Kukreti on Thursday with field units and stake holders including Child Welfare Committee, Asra Trust and Bachpan Bachao Andolan regarding the second phase of the operation and the data that has been collected by the units.