Ten Birhor Children Rescued in Gaya After Week-Long Search in Jharkhand
In a dramatic turn of events, ten children from the Birhor community in Koderma district, Jharkhand, who had been missing for nearly a week, were successfully rescued from Gaya (Gayaji) in Bihar on Saturday. The children, hailing from the Gadiyai hamlet, had disappeared after attending a feast at Parsabad, approximately 3 kilometers from their settlement. A dedicated team from Koderma traveled to Bihar to bring the children back to their home state after completing all necessary formalities.
How the Children Went Missing
The incident unfolded when the children accompanied their family members to a feast in Parsabad. While the adults returned home after the event, the youngsters did not. Initially, families assumed the children might have stayed behind with relatives or were playing nearby. However, as days passed without any sign of them, panic began to grip the small hamlet. The Birhor community, classified as a Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Group (PVTG), is among Jharkhand's most vulnerable populations, with about 1,900 members spread across 21 villages in Koderma alone.
Administration and Police Response
The situation escalated on Friday when the parents officially lodged a complaint with the Jainagar police station about the missing children. This prompted the Koderma administration to spring into action. Superintendent of Police Anudeep Singh formed multiple special investigation teams to trace the youngsters. In a significant move, the Koderma police announced a reward of Rs 1 lakh for any information leading to their whereabouts. Union Minister for Women and Child Development and Koderma MP Annapurna Devi also called for urgent action, highlighting the case's seriousness.
Breakthrough and Rescue Operation
The rescue was ultimately the result of a chance breakthrough involving the Gaya Child Helpline. Although the children had been found by locals and police in Bihar on February 2, a language barrier prevented them from communicating their details, such as names or home addresses, to officials there. Consequently, the Gaya Child Welfare Committee (CWC) placed the children in various protective shelters across Gaya, Nawada, and Aurangabad districts.
The deadlock was broken when Amit Pathak, the district coordinator of Childline in Gaya, spotted news reports about the missing children from Koderma. He promptly alerted the Jainagar police station on Saturday, enabling the identification and rescue of the children. According to SP Anudeep Singh, the children had wandered off, boarded a train at Parsabad, and were unable to disembark at Yadudih station, which is near their hamlet, leading to their unintended journey to Gaya.
Allegations of Delayed Action
Despite the successful rescue, the case has sparked controversy. Human rights activist Onkar Vishwakarma lodged a complaint with the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) on Saturday, accusing the police of delayed action. He claimed that the Koderma police were informed earlier by the local mukhiya (village head) but did not take the matter seriously until the parents filed a formal complaint on Friday. Vishwakarma has requested the NHRC to take action against the erring police officers, alleging negligence in the initial stages of the investigation.
The incident underscores the vulnerabilities faced by tribal communities in India and highlights the critical role of child protection mechanisms like Child Helpline in ensuring the safety of missing children.
