Parents, activists at the press conference. (Express Photo)
More than a fortnight after the Government Railway Police (GRP) in Madhya Pradesh’s Katni detained 155 students and eight teachers on suspicion of “child labour”, several parents on Monday convened a press conference in Bihar’s Araria, demanding compensation and the establishment of standard operating procedures to deal with children travelling for educational purposes.
From Bihar, the children, aged between six and 15 years, were being taken to schools and madrasas in Maharashtra and Karnataka. After they were intercepted on April 11, they spent two weeks at shelter homes in Madhya Pradesh’s Jabalpur and Katni. On April 25, they were brought back to their homes in the Seemanchal region of Bihar.
Parents of the children, all of whom are Muslim, accused the GRP of being “communal” in their actions. However, the Katni GRP said action was taken due to suspicion that the children were “being taken to Latur (in Maharashtra) to work as child labour”. An FIR was filed in this regard on April 12. The eight men travelling with them were booked under Section 143(4) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, which deals with trafficking of minors.
Parents alleged that their children felt traumatised while being kept at shelter homes in Jabalpur and Katni. They demanded an impartial investigation to hold those involved accountable, compensation for the children and teachers, and the issuance of a clear SOP to prevent harassment of travelling students.
Bibi Anjuman, a resident of Kundilpur, said, “My three grandchildren have been studying in Bidar in Karnataka since government and private schools in Bihar don’t match up to the standards available there. How can anyone stop them from travelling under the guidance of their teachers?”
Another parent, Mohammed Shaukat, alleged that the children were “specifically targeted due to their religious identity”. He alleged that even after the parents arrived in Katni, the administration delayed the release of the children through a prolonged Social Investigation Report process.
Legal representatives, advocates Mohammed Rameez and Mohammed Nawaz, said they had challenged the FIR filed at GRP Katni station.
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Qazi Atiqullah of Imarat-e-Shariah, a socio-educational organisation, said the “long-standing tradition of travelling for religious studies is a legal right”.
However, Railways Protection Force inspector Virendra Singh from Katni said the action was taken after they received a specific alert about “possible trafficking of children”.
“The action followed a specific alert. We received information about the possible trafficking of children. When the train arrived, teams checked the coaches and found a large number of minors travelling without proper tickets or documents,” he said.
Manish Tiwari, a Child Protection Officer, also said the intervention was based on credible input. “The Child Welfare Committee alerted us about a large group of children being transported under suspicious circumstances. Action was taken immediately,” he said.
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Katni GRP Station House Officer L P Kashyap said that during questioning, the eight teachers had told police that the children were being taken for religious education. “They said that the boys were being taken to a madrasa in Latur. They also said they had taken the children earlier, too, for the same purpose,” Kashyap said.
