10 child labourers rescued from a hotel in Rajkot, case filed against owner

Acting on a tip off, the hotel was raided and 10 child labourers were rescued. The children hailed from Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan and Nepal and most of them have studied till class 8. The hotel owner gave them two meals a day and a salary of Rs 8000 per month.

Rajkot: In a joint operation with Gujarat police and the district task force, volunteers of Bachpan Bachao Sanstha, a volutary organisation, rescued 10 child labourers from a hotel near Hospital Chowk area in Rajkot, police said on Thursday.

The city police have registered a case under relevant sections of Juvenile Justice Act, Child Labour (Prohibition and Regulation) Act and IPC against the owner of The Grand Thakar Hotel and the children have been sent to a shelter home.

Shital Sanjeev of Bachpan Bachao Sansthan told ETV Bharat they got information that children aged below 18 years are being made to work in a hotel in Rajkot. On the basis of this information, the organisation, the district task force and police raided the hotel and found 10 children working as labourers.

Sanjeev said that these children have been working here for a long time. The owner had built a room for them at the back of the hotel.

According to sources, seven children were from different districts of Uttar Pradesh, two were from Rajasthan and one from Nepal. All these children had come to work in Rajkot through their acquaintances.

The Bachpan Bachao Sanstha said that the children were given two meals a day and offered a salary of Rs 8000 per head a month. Most of the children have studied till class 8 after which, they came to Rajkot to work.

"The children have been sent to the special home for boys for the time being. Efforts will be taken to make arrangements for sending them back to their native places. The matter is being probed by the local police," an official of the Bachpan Bachao Sanstha said.