A father came to JVI’s Justice Hub partner for help concerning his missing child, Vikram. The ensuing investigation uncovered a disturbing trend –more missing children in three neighboring villages.
A trafficker targeting and coercing children in impoverished villages was promising secure jobs in the city. Out of desperation, the children would leave, hoping this job would be the answer to their families situation.
Once the Justice Hub team had identified the trafficker, they reached out to local police to take action. At first, the case was ignored, but the team would not give up. They reached out to senior police officials to direct action, and this worked. The Railway Police Force detected the trafficker at the railway station where he had brought a group of children to traffic to another location. When the police moved in on him, he fled, but they were able to intercept the children. Thankfully, these children were now free from their captor.
Back at the police station, it was shocking to learn what the children had experienced. They were severely malnourished, they had open wounds, and they were unable to stand without shaking. For the past seven months, they had been forced to work in a small room molding bangles and clipping semi precious stones on them. They were confined to a closed room filled with smoke and seated in the same position for 20 hours a day. If they began to fall asleep, their traffickers would jab the stone clippers in the children’s festering wounds.
After tortured hours looking down to make bangles, the children were unable to hold their heads up without using their hands.
They revealed that they were only given two small meals a day of rice and bread. After medical examination, it was discovered that some had developed chronic respiratory issues due to the smoky room. The Justice Hub team was able to return the boys to their homes and Vikram to his father.
The Justice Hub team visited the three villages to educate the communities on protecting children from traffickers. The team shared videos from this rescue, and upon seeing them, the community helped to find and rescue another boy who had been working in a sweatshop. Aftercare specialists visited the boys and saw an improvement to their health and smiles returning to their faces. The legal team was able to work with the police to find the trafficker and arrest him. The children are back with their families, and the villages are now prepared to stop further trafficking of their children.
Note: Names have been changed to protect privacy, and pictures are for representation purposes only.
