Ranchi: A joint team of Child Welfare Committee (CWC), Ranchi and District Child Protection Office (DCPO) brought back 20 trafficking survivors, including 18 minors and two adult women from 11 different New Delhi-based shelter homes on Monday. However, the team rued that they could not bring back 17 other children owing to issues of permission and clearances from their counterparts in Delhi.Talking to TOI, Rupa Verma, CWC Ranchi chairperson, said, “Originally, we were supposed to bring back around 40 children from New Delhi and had booked their tickets as well. As per protocol, we also included 10 police personnel in the team. After reaching Delhi, the CWCs in Avantika and Nirmal Chaya denied to handover 17 children claiming procedural delay.” She added, “It’s a clear violation of the Juvenile Justice Act, given that all cases need to be disposed within four months, but all these children have been in New Delhi for over six months now.”Ravindra Kumar Gupta (Babban), member of Jharkhand State Commission of Protection of Child Rights (JSCPCR), said, “There appears to be a conspiracy as there was no reason to deny us the permission to bring the children back. I have written a letter to National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR) demanding an inquiry into such practices.”Notably, JSCPCR had earlier objected to the trend of NGOs bringing rescued children back to this state citing that it was against the protocol. Post this, a state team was sent to bring current lot of children this time.Rani (name changed) recalled how she had reached Delhi was living in a shelter home for over a year, while waiting for her case’s disposal. The 13-year old was employed as a domestic help in New Delhi by an agency. “I was sent to work in New Delhi as my family is not very well off. But after they didn't pay me any money for five months, I escaped and was taken to a shelter home by the authorities,” she said.Even the two adult women who returned had been living in Delhi for a long period of time. One was employed as a domestic help for over six years but was living in shelter home for the past one year.The other was in the national capital for over four years. “When these two women arrived at the Delhi shelter homes, they were minors. It is just an indicator of how the transfer process was delayed like the one we faced this time is a challenge for the rehabilitation of these youngsters,” Verma said.The 20 survivors include four boys and rest girls hailing from Ranchi, Gumla, Khunti and Simdega districts.

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