DCW chief spots 8-yr-old chained to tree, rescues two from begging

NEW DELHI: The Delhi Commission for Women (DCW) on Thursday said it came across a "shocking" sight of an 8- year-old girl from a poor family chained to a tree last night when the panel's chairperson visited the parents of two minors, who were rescued from begging near a metro station here.

Following the rescue of the minor girls, chairperson Swati Maliwal identified their parents who lived on a pavement near the Anand Vihar Metro Station. There were 11 members in the family, including nine children, a statement said.

Their mother was pregnant and the father was found in an inebriated state when Maliwal visited the family, it said.

The commission, during their visit, was "shocked" to find the sister of the rescued girls chained to a tree. The parents claimed that she had got addicted to drugs and that is why they had chained her, the statement said.

However, the girl was unable to say anything. Maliwal and a member of the commission counselled the family, and with the help of the police and the parent's consent took the sisters to a shelter home, it said.

Maliwal interacted with the girls who told her that they earned around Rs 300 a day and slept on pavements with their family.

The chairperson has initiated an inquiry into begging by children in the national capital after the rescue made during an inspection yesterday at the station, the statement said.

The girls were today produced before the Child Welfare Committee (CWC) by the DCW with the request that the children be rehabilitated, it said.

Maliwal has also made a public appeal seeking suggestions for good shelters homes and hostels for the girls, and also urged people to come forward and help them.

"While there are rackets operating in Delhi forcing minors to beg, there are also several social and economical factors. Everyone has to come together to help in this issue," Maliwal said.