Traffickers who employed kids for theft arrested, six minors rescued

NEW DELHI: Delhi Police on Saturday said they have arrested a gang of child traffickers operating in west Delhi and rescued six minors, between the ages of nine and 15, from the clutches of the gang.

The arrested persons were identified as Anil Mandal, Sandeep Kumar alias Rohit and Chandershekhar Kumar Aggarwal.

A case under section 370 of the Indian Penal Code has been registered at Kirti Nagar police station.

The six rescued minors all belong to district Sahabganj in Jharkhand and include a nine-year-old, three 10-year-olds, an 11-year-old and a 15-year-old.

The racket was busted by an alert patrolling staff, comprising head constables Vicky and Manoj and constables Sanjeev and Vipin, who rescued three of the six minors after getting a tip-off.

After inquiring the children, the staff found that the kids had been brought to Delhi for committing theft at weddings and in markets by four persons, namely Mandal, Kumar, Aggarwal and one Sanjay.

"Based on their subsequent disclosure, three more children were rescued from a house in Nihal Vihar area of Nangloi, Delhi," a senior police official told reporters on Saturday.

In recent times, Delhi Police has found that gangs often exploit and train young children for committing theft in markets and weddings. Gangs often prefer minors as they are easier to train and making them commit theft involves minimal risk.

Children from West Bengal, Jharkhand, Bihar and Uttar Pradesh are often forcibly to Delhi and trained in stealing.

Even if they are caught, they are released soon with lenient punishment, on account of them being juveniles.

This modus operandi has been studied for a while by cops and such gangs have been surveilled, leading to rescue of many children.

The parents of these children are often financially disadvantaged and are coerced by gangsters to send their children, on the pretext of

gaining money.