NEW DELHI, March 15 (Xinhua) -- Indian police Thursday claimed to have rescued as many as 17 child laborers trafficked into the southern city of Hyderabad from several states.
Acting on a tip-off that a group of 150 children were being trafficked into the city from the states of Bihar, Madhya Pradesh and Jharkhand, a police team raided Secunderabad railway station late Wednesday night and rescued the children.
"After verifying the age of about 80 of them who arrived, as many as 17 of them were found to be minors, including two children, aged seven and 11," Child Protection Officer (Hyderabad district) Mohammed Imtiyaz Raheem told the media.
"The rescued labourers have been sent to a children's home," he added.
Another police official said that one person has been arrested in this connection. "We have taken into custody one person accompanying the children, We are questioning him to ascertain if there is a inter-state child trafficking ring," he said.
Child labor is the practice of having children engage in economic activity, a practice that deprives children of their childhood.
Poverty and the growth of informal economy are considered to be the key causes of child labor in India. Some other causes are cheap wages and accessibility to factories which can produce the maximum amount of goods for the lowest possible price.