HC asks Delhi Police to raid Jari industries

New Delhi, Jan 17 (UNI) The Delhi High Court today directed the Delhi Police to raid the jari (embroidery) industries in the capital to rescue the children forcibly employed by the industrialists.

A division bench headed by Chief Justice M K Sharma asked the police to conduct raids on the jari industries which allegedly employed a large number of children for delicate embroidery works.

It is believed that the nimble hands of children could do better jari works on cloth.

While hearing a PIL regarding child labour in the capital, the Bench asked Delhi Government Joint Labour Commissioner to file a status report on February 21, the next date of hearing, on the children who were rescued during various raids.

The court asked the authorities to state the fate of about 200 children who fled from the juvenile homes without knowledge.

In an affidavit on Sepetember 13, 2006, the state govenment had stated that 425 children had been rescued and about 300 of them had been sent to their home in Bihar, Jharkhand and Uttar Pradesh.

The Delhi Police Counsel submitted that the rescued children were lodged in Juvenile homes, operated by Prayas, an NGO established by senior IPS officer Amod Kanth.

The Court asked the police to state whether the rescued children were kept in juvenile home or rescue home. The rescued children should be segregated from the children who were nabbed with criminal backgrounds, said the court.

The court asked advocate Rajiv Awasthi to inspect the juvenile homes and rescue homes to see the plight of the children.

UNI