Source: Hueiyen News Service / Agencies
Chennai, January 25 2010:
The CB-CID police on Saturday and Sunday arrested four persons of Manipur for forcing 17 children into domestic work and illegally detaining them at a house in Sholinganallur.
The kids � 16 from Manipur and one from TN � were rescued after a complaint by the Child Welfare Committee.
The arrested�S Rakesh (25), and J Herojit Samom @ Hero Samom, Bangkim Singh (22) and Longjam Nungshi Singh (24) � were remanded in judicial custody.
According to the police, Rakesh and Herojit Samom brought 20 children, in the 8-12 age group, from Manipur promising to put them in school here and collected Rs 10,000 from their parents.
Instead, they were kept at Reach Children Home in Mogappair, run by one Immanuel.
Three children managed to escape.
The police said, a few days ago the children were allegedly taken from the home by Bangkim Singh and Longjam Singh to their house in Sholinganallur and forced into domestic work.
The children allegedly admitted to being sexually abused by Immanuel and two others.
"We will investigate based on the children's statements," a police officer said.
Seventy-six boys from Assam and Manipur, who were lodged in an unregistered children's home in Kanyakumari district, have been rescued.
Child Welfare Committee members raided the Bedesta Blessing Home, 60 km from here, which did not have adequate infrastructure or enough food to feed the children, officials said.
Shakila Banu, Palayamkottai Juvenile home officer and Probationary officer, Kanyakumari, K.Thirumavalavan told reporters last night that the children were staying in the three-year-old home since July 2009 .
The rescued children were from below poverty line families and brought to Saranayalayam, a home for orphans and destitutes being run by the Roman Catholic missionaries here, they said.
"We want to join our parents in Assam and Manipur," the children told the officials.
Thirumavalavan said they had approached the Red Cross and other government agencies to identify the children's parents so that they could be handed over.