Telangana Woman Safety Wing rescues 6,307 children during Operation Muskaan
Hyderabad, Aug 1
The Women Safety Wing of Telangana Police rescued 6,307 children during Operation Muskaan in the month of July, a top official said on Saturday.
Operation Muskaan-XII, a nationwide initiative by the Ministry of Home Affairs, was conducted across Telangana from July 1 to 31, 2026, under the Women Safety Wing, which is the nodal agency for the initiative in the State.
Shikha Goel, Director General, Women Safety Wing, said a total of 5,892 boys and 415 girls were rescued. According to her, 3,447 children were rescued within Telangana State.
As many as 2,860 were rescued from 15 States like Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, Odisha, Andhra Pradesh, West Bengal and Jharkhand. Forty children were rescued from Nepal.
A total of 124 Sub-Divisional Police Teams comprising 620 Police personnel were deployed in convergence with the Women Development & Child Welfare Department, Labour, Health, CWCs, DCPUs and NGOs.
A State-level convergence meeting was held on June 30, followed by training on SOPs and legal provisions, including the JJ Act 2015, Child Labour Act and Bonded Labour Act. Vulnerable areas such as railway/bus stations, religious sites, brick kilns, mechanic shops, construction sites and tea stalls were mapped.
The rescued children include 5,041 child labourers, one bonded labourer, 647 street children, 43 begging children, one orphan, 11 run-away children and 563 others (Dropout, child marriage, Illegal adoption).
The DG said 1,705 FIRs were registered and 1710 accused were arrested. A total of 1989 children were rescued in these cases.
On rehabilitation, she said 5,737 children were reunited with families, and 570 were admitted to child care Institutions.
The Labour Department imposed Rs 37,95,356 fine under the Minimum Wages Act.
During the operation, children were rescued from various establishments and workplaces, including street vending activities, hotels and dhabas, building and construction sites, grocery and kirana shops, automobile and transport sectors, retail shops and offices, meat and chicken shops, brick kilns and roof tile units, welding workshops, bakeries, footwear shops, and electrical and electronics shops.
The operation also covered children identified as school dropouts and those found engaged in various forms of child labour across these sectors.
Operation Muskaan XII reinforced Telangana Police's commitment to get rid of child trafficking and bonded labour with the coordination of stakeholders, Shikha Goel said.
— IANS
Reader Comments
As someone who works in child welfare internationally, these numbers are impressive. 5,041 child laborers rescued, 1,705 FIRs registered, 1,710 arrests - that's real accountability. The rehabilitation aspect with 5,737 reunited with families is the most heartening part. India is making genuine progress in child protection.
Question is, what happens to these children after they're "reunited"? Are we ensuring they go back to school? Is the government tracking them to prevent re-trafficking? Rs 37 lakh fine on employers seems too less honestly. But yes, better than nothing. Let's hope the follow-up is as strong as the rescue operation.
124 teams, 620 personnel, covering railway stations, brick kilns, mechanic shops, tea stalls... that's proper ground work. Operation Muskaan is one of those rare government initiatives that actually works because it involves multiple departments - police, labour, health, child welfare. Kudos to the Telangana Police! 👏
The scope of this operation is genuinely commendable. Rescuing children from 15 different states plus Nepal shows how interconnected child trafficking networks are. The 40 children from Nepal is particularly notable - that's international coordination. This is what modern law enforcement should look like.
The fact that 563 children were rescued from "dropout, child marriage, illegal adoption" categories is deeply concerning. Child marriage is still happening in our country? Sometimes I feel we only scratch the surface. But this op is a start. Need more awareness in rural areas about these helplines
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