Seven minor boys were rescued while being trafficked in Odisha's Rayagada district and a middle-man allegedly involved in child trafficking racket was arrested, the police said today.
Acting on a tip off, personnel of Rayagada district Child Welfare Committee raided a passenger bus bound for Parlakhemundi in adjoining Gajapati district from Malkangiri yesterday and rescued the boys, Committee president Ramesh Chandra Nayak said.
The boys, aged between 13 and 15 years and students of a government school at Malkangiri, were handed over to the police.
Apparently taking advantage of their impoverished condition, the middle-man Dhana Sagadia had induced the parents promising work for their wards at Parlakhemundi with monthly wage of Rs 5,000.
Sagadia had got Rs 500 per child from another person for the purpose, Nayak said.
Cases were registered against Sagadia for kidnap, cheating, and other offences, the police said.
All the children were kept in 'Child Line', an NGO working for welfare of children in distress, before being medically examined.
Efforts are on to help the boys return home with assistance from the Malkangiri district Child Welfare Committee, Nayak said.
