MANGALURU: Nine children, that included a two-month-old baby up to children aged seven, were rescued from Polali in a joint operation conducted by Childline-1098, Dakshina Kannada, District Child Protection Unit and the child development and protection officer on Friday.
The children, otherwise found begging on the streets of Mangaluru, had shifted their base to Polali, due to the ongoing annual festival of the Sri Rajarajeshwari temple.
Deekshith Achrappady, centre coordinator, Childline, told TOI the rescued children were produced before the Child Welfare Committee. Out of the children rescued, five are boys.
“Once the lockdown was lifted, and the public transport system was restored, many children who are into begging, who speak in Hindi, are found on the streets of Mangaluru. Some of them can be seen selling balloons. Also, since they are Hindi-speaking, many of them skip going to school here,” he said.