Director-General of Police (DGP) D. Gautam Sawang on Tuesday launched the week-long ‘Operation Muskaan’ across the State at the AP Police Headquarters at Mangalagiri.
Mr. Sawang flagged off rescue vehicles of the Vijayawada Police Commissionerate and Guntur Rural and Urban district vehicles on the occasion.
Additional Director-General of Police (Addl. DGP, Law and Order) Ravi Shankar Ayyanar, CID Addl. DGP P.V. Sunil Kumar, Rural Development Trust Vijayawada team leader Sridevi, Pure Hands NGO representative Sailaja, officers of various departments participated.
The drive aims at tracing missing children of other States, preventing child labour and bonded child labour and rescuing children engaged as domestic help, the DGP said.
Coordinated effort
Teams consisting of the police, revenue, juvenile welfare, Women Development and Child Welfare, labour, medical and health and other departments and Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs), raided hotels, garages, factories, houses, shops and other establishments since dawn.
Vijayawada Police Commissioner B. Srinivasulu said 57 children were rescued during the day and all of them were handed over to their parents.
Krishna district Superintendent of Police M. Ravindranath Babu said 125 children, including 24 girls, belonging to different places, were rescued.
Police and staff of other departments conducted raids in Nuzvid, Avanigadda, Machilipatnam, Gudivada and Nandigama sub-divisions and rescued the minors, the SP said
“Raids were conducted on shops, hotels, mechanic sheds and other hazardous industries in West Godavari, Nellore, Guntur, Prakasam, Visakhapatnam, East Godavari, Srikakulam and other districts,” a CID officer monitoring the operation said.
Mr. Ravindranath said three orphan children were referred to a Child Care Institution (CCI) and the others were handed over to their parents. In West Godavari, 130 children were rescued and except one, all were reunited with their parents after counselling.
