5 madrasa teachers arrested for “trafficking 59 children” and now exonerated

Lina PortmanMay 29, 2024

0 3 minutes read

Updated May 29, 2024, 9:09 p.m. IST

The Government Railway Police (GRP) of Manmad and Bhusawal have officially closed two criminal cases involving five madrasa teachers who were arrested in May 2023 and detained for four weeks for trafficking 59 children from Bihar to Maharashtra for alleged labor of children. However, GRP officers said the cases were closed in March this year as they concluded that the initial FIRs were filed based on a “misunderstanding”.

The Government Railway Police (GRP) Crazy man And Bhusawal officially closed two criminal cases involving five madrasa teachers who were arrested in May 2023 and detained for four weeks for trafficking 59 children from Bihar in Maharashtra for allegations child labor. However, GRP officers said the cases were closed in March this year as they concluded that the initial FIRs were filed based on a “misunderstanding”.

According to the case, according to Indian Express, on May 30, 2023, a group of 59 children aged between 8 and 17 years from Araria district of Bihar were traveling by train to Pune and Sangli to take courses in Islamic theology at Madrasas. Acting on information provided by a senior officer associated with the Delhi Juvenile Justice Board and the Railway Board, the Railway Protection Force (RPF), in collaboration with an NGO, intervened and “rescued” the children from the Bhusawal and Manmad stations.

The children were housed in foster homes in Nashik and Bhusawal for 12 days as authorities suspected them of being trafficked for child labor. Enraged by this, the parents demanded the children's return, leading the Nashik district administration to deport them back to Bihar.

RPF officials claimed that the five madrasa representatives accompanying the children could not provide adequate documents for their trip, leading to the filing of FIRs under sections 370 (trafficking in persons) and 34 (common intention). ) of the Indian Penal Code.

Those arrested were Mohammed Anjur Alam Mohammed Syed Ali (34) from Sangli, Saddam Hussain Siddiqui (23), Noman Alam Sidd-iqui (28), Ezaj Ziyabbul Siddiqui (40) and Mohammed Shahn-awaz Haroon (22). years) of Araria.

Later, the GRP officers, during the course of investigation, checked the credentials of the accused and the children. “After verification, we determined that there was no human trafficking and filed a 'C-Summary' closure report in court,” said Inspector Sharad Jogdand of Manmad GRP.

“Even though people knew these cases were false, the FIRs and arrests changed perceptions, causing us social and psychological suffering,” Moham-med Shahnawaz Haroon told The Indian Express from Sangli. “My family was so scared and anxious after the incident that they asked to cancel my decision to go to work in Saudi Arabia,” he said.

“I had Aadhaar cards for all the children and offered to connect the police with their parents through video call, but they demanded a letter of authority from the local sarpanch or parents, which we did not have . After being behind bars for 28 days, we were granted bail. My parents were so scared that they didn't eat for days,” Saddam Hussain Siddiqui said.

Meanwhile, advocate Niyaz Ahmed Lodhi, appearing for the teachers, said, “We have approached the Bombay High Court, seeking quashing of these baseless FIRs. Police informed the court that they found no physical evidence and are closing the case.

Lodhi said “the five teachers should demand compensation from the government for the harassment caused by the wrong actions of the police.” “Police should be better trained to be more careful…Such false cases not only waste time and resources of the police and judiciary, but also affect the credibility of the department,” he added.

Meanwhile, a senior GRP officer said, “We have registered FIRs based on complaints from RPF officials and NGOs. We could not refuse to file an FIR on suspicion of human trafficking of 59 children. Once we were sure no violations had occurred, we dropped all charges. “.