In a troubling incident highlighting gaps in child protection protocols, four boys rescued from suspected child labour slipped out of a moving vehicle and vanished into traffic in central Bengaluru on April 2.
Escape during transit raises safety concerns
The children, aged between 13 and 16, had been rescued a day earlier from the BMTC bus station in Majestic following a tip-off. According to a complaint filed by BOSCO, a city-based non-profit organisation, the boys—hailing from a village in Gorakhpur, Uttar Pradesh—were allegedly brought to Bengaluru to work as painters by a man identified as Brijesh.
Rescue teams traced the children around 11.15 am on April 1 and shifted them to a shelter facility in Gandhinagar. As per protocol, they were produced before the Child Welfare Committee (CWC) the following day for further directions.
Children flee amid slow-moving traffic
Officials stated that the boys, along with three others rescued under similar circumstances, were being transported in a Mahindra Bolero to attend the hearing. A doctor and staff members accompanied them.
However, at around 2.05 pm, while returning from the hearing, the vehicle slowed down near an Urdu school on the Mysore Road down ramp along Dr TCM Royan Road due to heavy traffic congestion. Taking advantage of the situation, the four boys, seated at the rear, opened the back door and jumped out.
“They ran towards a side road behind the school. Despite immediate efforts by staff to chase them, the children had already dispersed and could not be located,” a police officer said.
Negligence suspected, probe underway
Preliminary findings suggest negligence, with officials confirming that the rear door of the vehicle had not been properly secured. The incident has also drawn attention to Bengaluru’s persistent traffic bottlenecks, which may have contributed to the escape.
A case has been registered under Section 137(2) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita at Cottonpet police station. Authorities are currently analysing CCTV footage from nearby areas, including roads around the school and KSR Bengaluru City Railway Station, to trace the missing children.
Police have also contacted the father of one of the boys, a labourer in Bengaluru, but there has been no communication from the children so far. Officials added that the boys are school dropouts and may have travelled voluntarily in search of work, though all angles are being examined.