167 minor Muslim boys rescued at Katni railway station in Madhya Pradesh !

• Suspicion of child trafficking; 8 arrested

• A person named Saddam claimed they were being taken to a madarasa in Latur for education

Pune – Railway Police rescued 167 minor Muslim boys on the night of 11 April at Katni railway station in Madhya Pradesh. The operation was carried out on the Patna–Purna Express, and 8 persons have been arrested in connection with the case. With the assistance of the Railway Protection Force and Railway Police, the children were rescued from the train. During the inquiry, it emerged that all these children were travelling from Araria in Bihar to Latur in Maharashtra to study at a madarasa. Acting on specific intelligence inputs regarding a possible attempt at child trafficking, a team of the Child Welfare Committee carried out this operation.

A person named Saddam, who was taking these children from Araria to a madarasa in Latur, stated that he has been taking children for education to the madarasa in Latur for the past 10 years. He further said that even this time he was taking around 100 children with the full consent of their parents.

Commenting on the matter, Child Protection Officer Manish Tiwari stated that they had received intelligence inputs about the possible trafficking of more than 100 children via train. Based on this information, the children were rescued and an inquiry has been initiated.

During questioning, the children stated that they were travelling to study at a madarasa in Latur. Considering the seriousness of the case, a detailed investigation into every aspect of the matter has been initiated.

Editorial Perspective

• Madarasas allegedly functioning as centres of suspicious activities should be taken seriously by the government and administration. In fact, madarasas that have turned into hubs for creating terrorists should be banned across the country.
• Is it not dangerous from a security perspective to bring Muslim children from outside into the already sensitive Marathwada region of Maharashtra? Araria in Bihar is already a Muslim-majority area with a large number of madarasas; so why were children being brought from there to Maharashtra ? Such matters must be thoroughly investigated, and now patriotic Hindus should exert pressure on the government.