A Railway Protection Force (RPF) constable, while patrolling the platform after the arrival of a train in the late hours of the night at Tiruchi Junction last month, spotted a minor boy with a bag in a general compartment. The constable became suspicious and casually asked the boy who was accompanying him. As no one was found accompanying the boy, the RPF constable rescued the minor from the train and handed him over to a Childline representative at the station.

It was later revealed that the boy had run away from his home in a neighbouring district, apparently to meet his grandfather in Chennai. The child, who is a single parent, was apparently upset that his mother had put him in a hostel. The boy was given counselling and was reunited with his mother after verification.

This was one of the many cases where the RPF personnel rescued runaway children in Tiruchi Junction. According to RPF sources, since January this year, they have rescued a little over 70 runaway children, most of them boys, in Tiruchi Junction. In 2023, the RPF personnel have rescued over 150 runaway children.

A number of reasons are cited for this, including conflict with parents, conflict with step-parents, domestic problems and lack of interest in education, say those involved in such rescue operations. Many of the runaway children rescued at Tiruchi railway junction were in the care of single parents, say RPF sources and a Childline helpline official.

The children rescued from the station are immediately taken to the Childline booth manned by a representative of the organisation on duty at Tiruchi Junction. The children are initially given some food to gain their confidence and to inform them about their family, whereabouts and the reason for leaving home, say sources.

Every rescue case is immediately reported to the Child Protection Committee, which parades the rescued children and then places them in an emergency shelter. At the same time, efforts are made to inform their parents after their personal details have been ascertained.

The complete information about the rescued children is uploaded on the RPF’s central children’s portal, the sources said. In many of these cases, the runaway children were children aged 14-15. The rescued children are given counseling and are politely warned to refrain from such acts as they could land themselves in big trouble, the sources added. Their parents are also given counseling.

The children will be reunited with their relatives only after a thorough screening process, which includes verification of documents besides seeking a commitment, the sources added. Also, follow-up measures will be taken to find out about the reunited child by talking to the parents and asking them how he or she is feeling now, the sources added.