The boy showing his chained feet

After being rescued

The employer

The rescued child with BBA activist

Delhi is closely inching towards achieving the status of world class city, boasting of its ever escalating living standards but in the heart of the city has been discovered a case of modern day slavery.

Ali (name changed), 14, went missing from his native village Sehjana Kaparanda in Katihar district of Bihar in August 2009. After weeks of running from pillar to post, his father Sohrab Ali came to know that the boy had been trafficked to Delhi by one Kazi Sattar of the same village. He ended up getting trapped in a never ending circle of visiting police stations and requesting police personnel to take notice of the case. His complaint was never filed. Sohrab had lost all hope when one day he received a call from a man in Delhi informing him that his son was working at a Dhaba and has been found guilty of stealing an exorbitant sum of money.

His parents reached Delhi and complained to concerned Government authorities. The news reached Child Rights organization Bachpan Bachao Andolan where victims’ assistance team headed by Rakesh Senger took up the case from thereon. On January 6th, the complaint was lodged with Task Force on child labour and investigations followed the same day. Next day, a team headed by SDM Paharganj Mr. A. K Verma, Labour Department and Police accompanied by BBA activists swung into action and recovered the child who was kept in shackles for last 2 months.

The child who looked visibly tormented said, “I was working in this Dhaba for last 3 months. One day, he accused me of stealing Rs. 50,000 from his home and started torturing me physically. A fortnight ago, he decided to tether me with iron chains. I could move in the radius of one metre only and worked for more than 15 hours a day without any protection from the cold weather. Police personnel kept coming to the Dhaba and mocked at me. There is a mosque just opposite, even the people saw me like this everyday after their morning and evening prayers. Nobody came for my rescue”.

Chairperson of Bachpan Bachao Andolan, Mr. R.S Chaurasia, who was also present at the rescue scene said, “A child found chained in the heart of national capital is a serious issue. It goes on to show how little concern we have for children of our society. We have completed the legal formalities and would ensure that the employer does not go unpunished. This is worrisome; we will take this case a long way so that it sets a precedent for others who even contemplate a thing as barbaric as this.”