New Delhi, Dec 16 (IANS): At least 16 children were rescued from several dhabas and automobile shops in the national capital.

The 16 children rescued in a joint operation was led by Asheesh Kumar, Sub Divisional Magistrate, Rajouri Garden, with the team comprising officials of the Labour Department, Police, Association for Voluntary Action, also known as Bachpan Bachao Andolan, and Bal Vikas Dhara.

The raid on Friday was conducted on automobile shops and local eateries in the area to rescue the child labourers.

The rescued children in the age group of 10 to 17 years belong to the states of Bihar and Uttar Pradesh. All the children who were rescued looked malnourished, underslept and overworked with some working for over 12 hours every day.

“The SHO Rajouri Garden and SHO Hari Nagar is hereby directed to get FIR lodged against the said employers of the said rescued children as per applicable Acts such as Child Labour (Prohibition & Regulation Act, 1986), Juvenile Justice (Care & Protection of Children) Act, 2015 and the rules there under and other relevant provisions of IPC,” the SDM, Rajouri Garden, said in his order.

After being rescued, all the children were medically examined and then produced before the Child Welfare Committee (CWC).

Expressing concern over the situation of child labour, Manish Sharma, Director, Bachpan Bachao Andolan, said, “It is unfortunate that despite such strict laws and constant vigil, children are trafficked from other states and exploited by such establishments. Children are the most vulnerable section of society and the greed of grown-ups is crushing an entire future generation and adversely impacting the country’s economic growth.

"But the fight is on and will continue till we have freed all the children from slavery and child labour. Also, to intensify this fight and the cause, we hope the Anti-trafficking Bill is passed at the earliest,” he said.