Child labour rescue cases increase in delhi this year compared to 2024

Time of India

23-07-2025

New Delhi: There has been an increase of nearly 51% in child labour rescue cases in the city this year compared to 2024, Delhi Police data shows.
As per the data, 202 children were rescued between Jan 1 and May 31, 2025, up from 134 in the corresponding period last year.
A total of 22 people allegedly involved in forcing children into labour were arrested this year, compared to only nine in 2024.
Investigation by police revealed that most of the children were trafficked into the city to work as domestic helpers in private homes, bungalows or in various factories. According to those involved in rescue operations, traffickers often used false promises to lure vulnerable children, many of whom suffered emotional trauma, physical abuse and neglect, and earned meagre wages in unhygienic environments.
Most rescued children came from states like Jharkhand, Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan, they added.
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The root causes of child labour and trafficking, said the rescuers, included poverty, a lack of access to education, and inadequate social protection. A high demand for cheap, exploitative labour in certain industries further fuelled the problem.
"If they bring in adults, they would ask for money and cannot be easily threatened.
However, children cannot revolt or demand money, making it easier for factory or household owners to threaten them to work," said one of the rescuers.
Roop Sudesh Vimal, a former official of the Child Welfare Committee, said child labour was deeply tied to illiteracy and poverty in vulnerable communities. He highlighted that children working in factories are often subjected to harsh and unhygienic conditions, and invariably labour for at least 10 hours each day.
Such children typically live cramped together in a single room with poor living standards. "They are forced to meet demanding daily production targets -- such as making 50-60 garment pieces -- yet receive meagre wages of only Rs 3-5 per piece, far below a liveable income," he said.
Rita Singh, a former Delhi Commission for Protection of Child Rights member currently working with Udayan Care, an NGO that advocates for child rights, explained how traffickers lure children from remote villages to the city with promises of a better life.
"They target families living in very poor economic conditions and entice their children to come to the city. These children are then placed as domestic helpers or in factories, but in both cases, they do not receive proper wages and live in poor conditions. The children often suffer mental trauma and physical abuse," she said, adding that children living in remote villages often lack proper documents, which prevents them from benefiting from govt schemes, forcing them to work.
According to police, their raids are conducted after getting information and tip-offs, after which the children are rescued. The accused are then booked under the Juvenil Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act and Child Labour (Prohibition and Regulation) Act.