By Dominick Rodrigues 

Mumbai: In a major boost to efforts to protect children, the Western Railway’s Railway Protection Force (RPF) has successfully rescued 369 runaways and missing children and reunited them with their families during the period January 2021 to August 2021.  

Alok Kansal, General Manager, Western Railway, commended the efforts of the RPF in playing a vital role of social responsibility by understanding and counseling these children in their problems while also reuniting them with their families.  

While the 369 children — including 233 boys and 136 girls — were reunited with their families with the help of NGOs like Childline India Foundation etc, investigations showed that most of the children left their homes due to fights, family issues or in search of a better life and glamour.  

However, disoriented, lost and alone in their flight from homes, these children were found roaming on platforms, station premises and even in trains by the trained RPF personnel, Kansal said, adding that the parents were full of gratitude for their missing children being restored to them. 

A breakup of the eight-month rescue figures highlighted156 children being rescued in Mumbai Division, 43 in Vadodara Division, 42 in Ahmedabad Division, 94 in Ratlam Division, 27 in Rajkot Division and 7 children in Bhavnagar Division. The month of August 2021 alone witnessed 71 children including 51 boys and 20 girls being rescued and reunited with their parents, he added.