By Dominick Rodrigues
Mumbai, Apr 4: As many as 141 children – who had gone missing after running away from their homes or other circumstances – were rescued in the past one year by the Railway Protection Force (RPF) of Mumbai Division from Mumbai Railway Platforms of Central Railway stations. These children were later sent to their respective homes and reunited with their parents.
From April 2020 to March 2021, the Railway Protection Force of Mumbai Division rescued 141 children — including 92 boys and 49 girls — reunited them with their parents with the help of NGOs like Childline. The last five years — 2016 to March 31, 2021 – witnessed total 1,874 children being rescued in the Mumbai Division of Central Railway.
Most of these 141 children came to the city without informing their families and the reasons were multifold including: quarrels, family issues, or simply just in search of a better life or glamour. Lost without any place to go, these children were noticed loitering on the platforms or near the railway stations by the trained Railway Protection Force personnel, who counselled and reunited them with their worried parents. Many of the parents expressed their deep gratitude for this noble gesture of the Railway Protection Force, railway sources said.
One of these cases highlighted a 14-year-old girl, who ran away from her Nagpada (Mumbai) residence after her father scolded her. The little girl was spotted moving around in a frightened manner on the Sion Railway Station Platform past midnight of December 30,2020.
RPF Constable S. N. Shinde and RPF Inspector Sunder Singh Prajapati gently questioned her and, after discovering that she ran away from home fearing her father’s anger, counselled her before taking her to the RPF Police Station, Dadar and later – in coordination with the City Police – uniting her with her worried parents.
This is one of the many stories that end happily with the kids being safely reunited with their parents – thanks to the trained, efficient and understanding Railway Protection Force of Mumbai Division that continues to ensure the safety of the commuters on the railways, while lending a helping hand to such affected families in restoring their kids back to them safely, thus bringing smiles on worried parents faces, the railways stated.
