Hyderabad, August 2: The Women’s Safety Wing of Telangana Police has successfully rescued 6,307 children during Operation Muskaan in July, a senior official reported on Saturday.
From July 1 to 31, 2026, the Women’s Safety Wing led this initiative as part of a nationwide effort by the Ministry of Home Affairs, dubbed Operation Muskaan-8.
Director General Shikha Goyal revealed that among those rescued, 5,892 were boys and 415 were girls. Notably, 3,447 children were saved from within Telangana state.
Additionally, 2,860 children were rescued from 15 states, including Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, Odisha, Andhra Pradesh, West Bengal, and Jharkhand. The operation also included the rescue of 40 children from Nepal.
A total of 124 sub-divisional police teams, comprising 620 officers, were deployed in coordination with the Departments of Women Development and Child Welfare, Labor, Health, child welfare organizations, and NGOs.
On June 30, a state-level coordination meeting was held, followed by training on standard operating procedures (SOPs) and legal provisions. Sensitive areas such as railway and bus stations, religious sites, brick kilns, mechanic shops, construction sites, and tea stalls were mapped for the operation.
Among the rescued children, 5,041 were child laborers, one was a bonded laborer, 647 were street children, 43 were begging, one was an orphan, 11 had run away from home, and 563 fell into other categories (school dropouts, child marriage, illegal adoptions).
The DG reported that 1,705 FIRs were filed, leading to the arrest of 1,710 suspects. In total, 1,989 children were saved through these efforts.
Regarding rehabilitation, 5,737 children were reunited with their families, while 570 were placed in child care institutions.
The Labor Department imposed a fine of ₹3,795,356 under the Minimum Wages Act.
During the campaign, children were rescued from various establishments and workplaces, including roadside shops, hotels, dhabas, construction sites, grocery stores, the transport sector, retail shops, meat and chicken shops, brick kilns, tile-making units, welding workshops, bakeries, shoe shops, and electronics stores.
The operation also targeted school dropouts and children engaged in various forms of child labor in these sectors.
Shikha Goyal emphasized that Operation Muskaan-8 has further strengthened the Telangana Police’s commitment to eradicating child trafficking and bonded labor through stakeholder coordination.
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