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The NGO Sathi Foundation recently said that it has rescued 191 runaway children from the railway section of Pune alone in the past six months. Of the 191 children rescued, 187 were boys and four were girls.
Speaking about the issue, Sathi ChildLine Coordinator Rajveer Singh said they are also running a weekly awareness campaign at Pune Railway Station to spread awareness about cases of runaway children and CHILDLINE services (1098).
“We operate under Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) for the juvenile justice system. Singh said our advisors have at least a postgraduate degree in social work.
The coordinator added, “It was observed that most of the missing children last year were from Maharashtra but in this fiscal year, we have rescued more children from UP and Bihar.”
A woman from the Government Railways Police (GRP) at Pune railway station said, “Two Havildar women have been assigned to identify vulnerable children at the station. After identifying these children, we hand them over to the children line and provide them with shelter, medical treatment and food.”
Pune RPF (Railway Protection Force) Inspector BS Raghuwanshi gave several reasons why the children ran away from their homes. Some are lured into town, some run away from their homes, some are abused and trafficked to beg at the station.
“We observe their behavior and body gestures,” said the inspector, “and focus on the children who seem to be under some kind of pressure.”
Raghwanshi said that according to the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) data, a total of 244 children were rescued at Pune Railway Station last year, of whom 206 were boys and 38 were girls. “Currently as of June 30, we have seen 177 such cases,” he added.
The inspector said the RPF had set up a Savitri byeful squad of female policewomen to wake up children in danger.
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