5 held for taking 59 kids to madrasa without documents from parents

Nashik: The Bhusawal and Manmad railway police have arrested five men from a train, and have taken charge of 59 minor boys accompanying the men. The five men have been arrested under section 370 (trafficking of persons) of the IPC. “The children belong to the Muslim community and all are in the 8-16 age group. They have been sent to child care centres operated by child welfare committees in Jalgaon and Nashik,” said Ganesh Shinde, who holds the additional charge of SP of Railway Police, Aurangabad.Ganesh Shinde added: “Following an inquiry, it has been learned that the children were being taken from the Purnia district in Bihar to Sangli, purportedly to get them admitted to a madrasa. But the children had no documents with them like school leaving certificates, birth certificates, Aadhaar cards etc. In this age, one has to comply with all the legalities. Even schools take consent from parents when their wards are taken out for excursions.” He said, “These children were being taken from one end of the country to another. So far, we have not found any parental consent letter with the men either. Therefore, the five accused have been arrested under section 370 of the IPC.”