Kanker: Three minors, including a girl, were rescued from CPI(Maoist) captivity, amid shootout during a search operation by the security forces in Chhattisgarh's Kanker, on Sunday. These children who were primarily engaged for household work by the Naxalites were handed over to the district Child Welfare Committee (CWC).
Police said all three were provided medical care before being passed on to the CWC for rehabilitation. The joint operation was conducted by the District Reserve Group (DRG), Border Security Force (BSF), and district police personnel in the Kanker forest range. The search op took place in the Aaland area which falls under the Chhotebethia police station jurisdiction.
"On February 12 (Sunday), the forces drawn from DRG, District Police, and BSF were conducting searches in the forest of Aaland in Kanker district of Chhattisgarh. During the search operation, the Naxalites opened fire at the security forces. We retaliated the fire and that's when we saw children," a police official said.
We saw children fleeing from the spot. We went after them and traced them to a hiding hole, the official added. During the interaction, the children said there were children from Aalandand, Binagunda, Vattekal, and Puster areas of the district and that they were forcibly brought to this place to work for Naxalites, the police said.
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Members belonging to proscribed outfit CPI(Maoist) were forcibly engaging villagers as well as minor children to work for them. The security forces sent the children to Pakhanjoor Community Health Centre (CHC) for medical examination before handing over to the CWC.
