Ghaziabad: 57 minors employed at meat processing factory rescued

The police teams and officials of other departments safely rescued the minors and sent them in buses for medical examination and other legal formalities. The children said they were paid ₹300 for the daily work

Joint team of different departments of Uttar Pradesh along with officials from the National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR) on Wednesday claimed to have rescued 57 minors, including 31 girls, mostly from Bihar and West Bengal, who were allegedly forced to work at an abattoir of a meat processing and exporting unit in Ghaziabad’s Masuri.

The district administration officials said that the rescued boys and girls will be taken to the child welfare committee (CWC). (PTI/Representational Image)

The officials of the Ghaziabad police said they were asked to assist the team of NCPCR on Wednesday afternoon.

“When we entered the unit, we found that about 57 workers there were minors. They told us that they are mostly from Bihar and West Bengal. We found them cutting the meat placed on tables. They also told that some of them were working for the past several months while others were working for about 3-5 years,” said Sacchidanand, additional deputy commissioner of police (crime).

“There were number of slaughtered animals whose meat was getting processed and minors were engaged in such inhuman processes. The police teams and officials of other departments safely rescued the minors and sent them in buses for medical examination and other legal formalities. They told that they were paid ₹300 for the daily work. It seems that the minors were brought to work here through some contractor,” the ADCP said.

The ADCP said those rescued include 31 girls and 26 boys.

Priyank Kanoongo, the chairperson of NCPCR, also posted a tweet on X while stating about the raid.

“...57 minors (31 girls and 26 boys, including handicapped people) have been rescued; the operation is still on. All of them were being made to slaughter animals there. The number may change once other processes including verification of age of children are completed. Action has been taken on the complaint of Mission Mukti,” Kanoongo’s wrote on X, said.

HT tried to contact the local manager of the unit and also officials of the Mumbai-based unit in Mumbai, but they did not respond to calls for their response over the issue.

Police further said the labour department will forward a complaint to a chief judicial magistrate in connection with the case.

“We will file a complaint soon, once the medical examination of all 57 rescued minors is completed, The action will be taken up accordingly. The unit is registered under the Factories Act,” said Virender Kumar, additional labour commissioner.

The district administration officials said that the rescued boys and girls will be taken to the child welfare committee (CWC).

“The CWC will decided and allocate shelter homes for them. Thereafter, we will conduct their counselling session. Their families will also be called in along with relevant documents. Their age ascertainment will also be done. If anyone is found aged about 17-18, the final decision of age will be taken up by the CWC,” said Manoj Pushkar, district probation officer.