Ahmedabad: In a proactive move to address school dropout rates, Gujarat Police have initiated a statewide month-long campaign titled 'Operation Childhood Freedom'. The drive, conducted under the CID Crime (Women Cell), focuses on identifying and rescuing child labourers and facilitating their return to education.
Campaign Phases and Targets
Officials outlined four phases for the campaign. The first phase involves mapping hotspots and collecting data on school dropouts. The second phase includes police teams conducting inspections and rescuing children engaged in labour. The third phase focuses on presenting rescued children before child welfare committees for rehabilitation and school enrolment. The final phase entails legal action against individuals and establishments employing children.
Authorities have set ambitious targets: rescuing over 5,000 child labourers, inspecting more than 50,000 suspected locations, and gathering over 10,000 intelligence inputs. Police will also utilize technology-based intelligence to identify vulnerable areas and establishments.
Outreach and Legal Awareness
As part of the campaign, outreach efforts aim to sensitize traders, factory owners, restaurant operators, and other employers about laws prohibiting child labour and the importance of ensuring children attend school. This initiative follows 'Operation Milap', a month-long state-wide exercise that concluded recently, resulting in the tracing of 1,470 missing persons.
Operation Milap Success
Operation Milap, launched on May 7, reviewed pending missing persons cases registered across Gujarat since 2007. Of the 1,470 persons traced, 852 were women, 342 were men, 234 were minor girls, and 42 were minor boys. Surat city police recorded the highest number of missing persons traced at 341.
