Instead of reading books, these children forced to make bangles

Jaipur….. the pink city of India and capital of Rajasthan is not only known for its beauty, Hawamahal, Albert Hall but also for artificial jewellery and ornaments made by ‘Laakh’. What remains unknown is that behind the sparkling ornaments lie something which is not only illegal but also immoral. A large number of children are engaged in making these things. Barely a few days back, the police and a child organization had rescued 22 children from Bhatta basti located in Jaipur.

The children told the cops that they had been forced into making the ornaments. They also told the police and the NGO that they worked 18 hours a day and lived only on ‘Khichadi’. A person named Shahnavaj alias Guddu bought them from their parents in Rs 500 only and took them to Jaipur. The children were in a room here and later on forced to making laakh ornaments from 6 am to 11 pm every day.

The rescued children said that Guddu’s wife was involved in this. The couple managed to escape leaving their own four children behind when the cops raided their house. When the police got the rescued children medically examined, one of these 11-year-olds was found to be malnourished and was admitted to the hospital.

It was sheer chance that the children were rescued. The residents of Bhatta Basti, who lived in the neighbourhood of Guddu, heard cries of children from Guddu’s house. It seemed as if the children were being beaten by someone. When the screams were heard by the neighbours, they called an organization ‘Bachpan Bachao Andolan’ and the police.

The police found that the accused owner had locked the house from outside and was using the children as labourers. After watching police accused ran away with his wife. Police rescued 22 children between the six to 12 years.