Hyderabad: 159 children rescued under 'Operation Muskaan'

Hyderabad: As many as 159 children were rescued from begging on city streets under the eighth phase of Hyderabad Police 'Operation Muskaan'.

According to officials, this year Operation Muskaan-VIII was taken up with the objective of saving children from begging, abandonment and child labour. The police also aim to trace missing children and rescue victims of trafficking.

The project is being taken up in coordination with the departments of Women and Child Welfare, Labour, Education, Revenue, besides various non-governmental organisations (NGOs).

As many as 17 teams of the Police, along with Labour, Women and Child Welfare departments, child line and NGOs were formed in the five zones of the Hyderabad Commissionerate.

So far, they have rescued 159 children--135 boys and 24 girls, who hail from Telangana and other States like Odisha, Bihar, UP, Jharkhand, Maharashtra and Karnataka. A total of 12 FIRs were booked against owners of shops where children aged between 5 and 18 years were working. The Hyderabad police informed that the Operation Muskaan-VIII will be continued throughout this month to trace missing and abandoned children, beggars and child labour.