Agartala, Dec 25 (AHN) A three-member official team of the Tripura government on Thursday left for Arunachal Pradesh to bring back 24 child labourers, along with a few adult workers, who were allegedly trafficked to the state (Arunachal) for unauthorised work, a minister said.

Tripura Labour, Social Welfare and Social Education Minister Tinku Roy said that the official team comprising officials of the Child Welfare Committee (CWC), the Labour Department and the Tripura Police has already left Unakoti district headquarters Kailashahar, and the rescued children, along with a few adults, are expected to be brought back to Tripura within the next two to three days.

Acting on a request from the Tripura Police, the Arunachal Pradesh Police on Wednesday rescued 24 child labourers along with a few adult workers who were allegedly trafficked to the state for unauthorised work.

A senior official of Tripura police said that the Arunachal Pradesh Police informed them on Wednesday night about the successful rescue of all 24 child labourers and the accompanying adult workers.

Family members of the children had earlier claimed that around 30 kids, along with a few adult workers, were secretly taken to Arunachal Pradesh. However, subsequent verification confirmed that 24 children were forcibly taken for unauthorised work.

Officer-in-Charge of Kailashahar Police Station in Tripura’s Unakoti district, Tapas Malakar, had said that Tripura Police contacted their Arunachal Pradesh counterparts after a missing persons case was registered, seeking assistance to trace the children.

Following the request from the Tripura government, the Arunachal Pradesh Police launched an intensive search operation, leading to the rescue of the children and adult workers, Malakar told the media.

Director General of Tripura Police Anurag, over the phone, talked to his Arunachal Pradesh counterpart Anand Mohan and sought his intervention to rescue the children.

Family members of the children and youths had lodged an FIR at the Kailashahar Police Station on December 23, alleging that the children were ill-treated and forced to live in inhuman conditions, resulting in severe mental distress.

“The families are in deep anguish and are desperately seeking the safe and early return of their near and dear ones,” Malakar said, highlighting the humanitarian gravity of the situation.

The parents of the missing children are workers at tea gardens in Northern Tripura’s Unakoti district. Meanwhile, Tripura Minister Roy wrote to Arunachal Pradesh Commerce and Industries, Labour and Employment Minister Nyato Dukam, seeking his intervention to facilitate the rescue of the children.

In his letter, Roy stated that around 30 child labourers, along with a few adult workers, were taken from Rangrung Tea Garden and another tea garden in Kailashahar under Unakoti district to Arunachal Pradesh after being promised wages and benefits. However, the traffickers allegedly denied the children their lawful entitlements.

The Minister further said that family members alleged the children were subjected to ill-treatment and compelled to live in inhuman conditions, causing severe mental distress and anxiety.

“In view of the seriousness of the matter and the humanitarian concerns involved, I earnestly request your kind intervention to extend all necessary assistance for the immediate rescue and safe repatriation of the child labourers to their homes in Tripura at the earliest,” Roy had said in the letter.