Twenty trafficked children, working as labourers in factories, were today rescued from North-East and North-West Delhi after multiple raids by a joint team of Delhi Police, Labour Department and NGO Bachpan Bachao Andolan, police said.
Three factories were sealed during the raids, they said.
"Eight boys were freed from bindi-making units in Nandnagar locality of Shahdara area of North-East Delhi while the rest, including the girl, were found in nail polish-making and utensil-polishing units in Samaypur Badli Industrial Estate in North-West," a statement released by BBA said.
The children, aged between 10 and 16, had been trafficked to the capital from various districts of Bihar and Uttar Pradesh and even Nepal.
"These hapless victims worked for 12 hours a day and many of them toiled continuously for 24 hours at least once in a week. Their eyes are red due to lack of sleep and their skin is pale due to lack of food," said Kailash Satyarthi, founder of BBA.
The children were sent to Mukti Ashram, a BBA-run rehabilitation centre, on orders of the Child Welfare Committees of the respective districts from where they were freed.
