The Hindu

Mangalore, May 12: Kishan Rawat, who claimed that he was 12 years old, was produced at the Child Welfare Committee (CWC) court here on Monday. He had been caught by the Child Line staff on Sunday as he was found working for a vendor at Bikarnakatte.

The boy told the court that he was from Rajasthan and had come to Mangalore about two months ago.

He had failed in fifth standard and was not going to school for a year now. A middle-aged man, claiming to be Kishan’s uncle, frequently said that many of their family members were in Mangalore and engaged in “chaat” business. He told the court that the boy had not been brought here as a labourer.

He had come here for holidays and was just helping the family members.

According to him, Kishan was around 15.

Kishan’s uncle was asked to produce the boy’s birth certificate and school certificate in a couple of days.

Geo D’Silva, member of CWC, said that he suspected many children like Kishan could be working for “chaat” vendors in Mangalore and that they had been brought here from the northern States. “We don’t know if they have been brought here with the permission of their parents. It is an offence to make the children work in public even if it is for a family business,” he said.