800 child labourers rescued across Karnataka days after CM Shivakumar’s market visit

The police conducting a raid to rescue child labourers in Bengaluru on Saturday. (Photo Credit: Special Arrangement)

The Karnataka Police rescued at least 800 child labourers during a statewide surprise drive on Saturday.

The drive came days after Chief Minister D K Shivakumar visited the APMC market in Bengaluru, where he noticed child labourers and subsequently 29 of them were rescued.

On Saturday, the drive was conducted across all 962 police station limits in the state. According to official sources, 503 children were rescued in Bengaluru, the highest number in the state.

Bengaluru was followed by Vijayapura with 72 children rescued, Tumakuru (33), Koppal (27), Kalaburagi (22), Ballari (15) and Mysuru (13).

The raids were primarily conducted on garages, marts, repair shops, hotels, markets, bars and restaurants.

The highest number of children were rescued in Bengaluru.

A senior police officer said, “The raids have not ended but will continue. The legal action has already been initiated by registering FIRs and, in some cases, notices have been issued. The labour department and child welfare committee members were also part of the raid.”

The owners of establishments where child labourers have been found were booked under the Child and Adolescent Labour (Prohibition and Regulation) Act and the Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act.