Summary of this article
163 minor boys from Bihar’s Araria region were rescued late Saturday night from the Patna-Purna Express at Katni railway station in Madhya Pradesh after authorities received an alert about suspicious movement.
The children, aged between 6 and 13, were allegedly being trafficked for labour work in Maharashtra’s Latur district; eight persons accompanying them have been arrested.
The joint operation by Railway Protection Force (RPF), Government Railway Police (GRP), and Child Welfare Committee highlights growing concerns over interstate child trafficking networks exploiting vulnerable families in Bihar for cheap labour in other states.
In a major rescue operation, authorities in Madhya Pradesh’s Katni district saved 163 minor boys who were allegedly being trafficked from Bihar to Maharashtra for labour work, officials said on Sunday, April 12, 2026.
The children, aged between six and 13, were intercepted on board the Patna-Purna Express late on Saturday night at Katni railway station. Acting on a tip-off from the Child Welfare Committee (CWC), teams of the Railway Protection Force (RPF) and Government Railway Police (GRP) conducted a joint operation and deboarded the group from the train.
According to preliminary investigations, the boys hailed primarily from the Araria region in Bihar and were being transported to Latur in Maharashtra, where they were reportedly meant to be engaged in various forms of manual labour. Many of the children appeared to come from extremely poor and vulnerable families, a pattern often exploited by trafficking networks that lure or coerce minors with false promises of work, education, or better opportunities.
RPF Inspector Virendra Singh confirmed that the children were travelling without proper adult guardians or documentation, raising immediate red flags. The eight persons accompanying the group — believed to be traffickers or agents — were detained on the spot and have since been arrested. A case has been registered against them under Section 143(4) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), which deals with trafficking of minors, along with relevant provisions of the Juvenile Justice Act and other child protection laws.
The rescued children were immediately handed over to the Child Welfare Committee and district child protection units for medical examination, counselling, and safe rehabilitation. Arrangements are being made to reunite them with their families in Bihar while ensuring they receive necessary care and are not re-victimised.
This incident once again underscores the persistent challenge of interstate child trafficking in India, particularly involving boys from economically backward districts of Bihar being moved to industrial or agricultural belts in states like Maharashtra. Activists point out that poverty, lack of local employment, and weak enforcement at transit points continue to fuel such networks despite stringent laws like the Immoral Traffic (Prevention) Act and POCSO.
Madhya Pradesh Police and railway authorities have launched a detailed probe to trace the full chain of the trafficking racket, including possible kingpins operating from Bihar and Maharashtra. Senior officials have assured that the matter will be pursued vigorously to dismantle the syndicate.
The timely intervention has been widely praised, with child rights organisations calling it a success story of coordinated action between railway police, child welfare bodies, and local administration. However, they have also urged stronger vigilance at major railway junctions and better community awareness programmes in source areas to prevent such large-scale trafficking attempts in the future.
As the rescued boys receive care in government shelters, their families in Bihar are being contacted. Officials emphasised that the priority remains the safety, health, and long-term rehabilitation of the children, many of whom are too young to even fully understand the ordeal they narrowly escaped.
