Bengaluru City Police and the Karnataka Labour Department launched a massive joint rescue operation at the Agricultural Produce Market Committee (APMC) yard in Yeshwanthpur on Tuesday, rescuing 19 child labourers who were illegally employed across various wholesale and retail shops. The coordinated crackdowns were initiated immediately after Chief Minister D.K. Shivakumar visited the market yard during the early morning hours to inspect facilities and interact with farmers, headload workers, and local traders.
During his walk-through of the market, citizens and market workers directly informed the Chief Minister that several shop owners were illegally employing minor children for strenuous manual labour and loading operations. Responding to the complaints, Chief Minister Shivakumar directed senior police officials to take immediate and stern action against child exploitation within the market premises.
Following the instructions, five special task forces—comprising Assistant Commissioners of Police, station inspectors from the North Division, and Labour Department inspectors—conducted simultaneous checks throughout the market. Authorities confirmed that among the 19 rescued children, 13 were from Bihar, two each from West Bengal and Uttar Pradesh, and one each from Rajasthan and Karnataka. Police registered four separate cases at the RMC Yard Police Station under the Child and Adolescent Labour (Prohibition and Regulation) Act and the Juvenile Justice Act, while the rescued minors were presented before the Child Welfare Committee for rehabilitation.
