New Delhi: An organization working in the field of child rights on Wednesday claimed that more than one lakh children have been saved from trafficking across the country in the last two and a half years. These children were rescued from brick kiln industries, construction sites, shops, tea shops, sidewalks in different parts of the country.
Child trafficking is a serious crime. It is one of the most severe forms of human rights violations prevalent in various parts of India. Children who are victims of this heinous act are victims of physical, sexual and emotional violence as well as abuse, torture and exploitation. They may also face practices such as forced and bonded labour, forced marriage, and slavery.
To tackle the serious issue of child trafficking, the National Commission for the Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR), which is a premier statutory body set up under the Commission for Protection of Child Rights Act, 2005. The responsibility to prevent and deal with the crime of child trafficking lies primarily with the concerned States and Union Territories (UTs), which have the power to deal with such crimes in accordance with the existing legal provisions.
Just Rights for Children (JRC), a network of more than 250 organisations working for child protection across the country, told ETV India on Wednesday that between April 2023 and September 2025, 1.10 lakh children from various states and union territories were rescued from trafficking through its affiliates.
According to the data, the highest number of rescued children was from Telangana. The total number was 30,267. In the second place were 10,211 children from Bihar, 9,445 from Uttar Pradesh and 8,278 from Rajasthan. It claims that a total of 6,564 children were rescued from Delhi during the above period.
Opinion of the child rights expert:
“Jyoti Mathur, senior advisor (policy and research) at the JRC, told ETV India, “”Hundreds of children have been rescued by the active steps of the state government.” ‘Operation Muskan’ or ‘Smile’ has been conducted regularly every year since 2015 in the state to trace missing and trafficked children. In addition, the facial recognition app ‘Mirror’ helps in tracing children.
The child rights expert said that the major factors of child trafficking include lack of educational facilities, poverty, lack of awareness, social weaknesses and discrimination, demand and tradition of cheap and flexible labour, etc.
