City Police have rescued three children who were used for street begging, and two women, who claimed to be their mothers, have also been arrested.
Today morning, the police spotted a woman, named Suganya begging in the Railway Station Junction with a one-year-old baby. The police rescued the baby and arrested the woman along with the child. As the baby is dependent on the mother for feeding, the child was also sent with the mother to the prison.
In another incident, Mariammal, a woman who was engaged in begging in front a mosque in Rathinapuri area with her two daughters, two-year-old and 9-year-old was also arrested. The elder child was sent to a shelter home while the younger one was sent with the mother to the prison.
Since yesterday, a team of police are on a mission to rescue children who have been forced into begging either by brokers or their own parents. The rescued children were sent to shelter homes. Those who use children for begging mostly claim poverty and unemployment as the reason they had to resort to using their children for begging, which in turn helps them earn money through public sympathy.