Bengaluru: Over the last month, 10 children belonging to two groups were rescued by Railway Protection Force (RPF). They had travelled from their homes without the knowledge of parents and reached Bengaluru with little to no money in hand.The latest case was reported last week after a group of six children, including two 16-year-olds and four 17-year-olds, from Tumakuru reached KSR Bengaluru by train. They were rescued during a special drive conducted at the station. RPF officers said the kids became nervous on seeing the team, raising suspicions. During investigation, the team realised the children left their homes as they wanted to roam around Bengaluru city.While this group had travelled less than 100km, last week, a group of four boys travelled all the way from Manipur. They were rescued on July 20 when the RPF team found them near the taxi stand of KSR Bengaluru railway station. Among the group of four children, a 13-year-old had just Rs 1,200 with him; another 17-year-old had Rs 830 with him. A 14-year-old boy had a keypad mobile phone.During questioning, RPF found they were from Imphal East district of Manipur and that their parents had no knowledge of their Bengaluru trip.“While a few might have come to meet relatives or for sightseeing, we don’t know what’s the actual reason. There have been previous cases where children come to Bengaluru in search of work as well. There is a special anti-trafficking team at railway stations taking a close watch at minors travelling alone,” said Shreyans Chinchawade, senior divisional security commissioner, RPF, Bengaluru.
