Around 326 children were rescued as part of Operation Smile-2 from Hyderabad and Secunderabad. They were from Assam, Odisha, Bihar and West Bengal. 12 children from West Bengal would be sent back to their home town on February 18. A few days ago, 90 children from Bihar were sent to their home towns.
In January, police, women and child welfare, labour and other departments launched Operation Smile-2 where children working as labourers and beggars were rescued by the officials.
Among the 326, three of them were missing children: two from Odisha, and one from Bihar. “One of the boys escaped from clutches of a stranger at Secunderabad railway station. He was rescued by Childline at the railway station. The three boys were sent to their hometowns with the help of police, said Imtiyaz Raheem, Hyderabad district child protection unit official.