Acting on a tip-off, the Labour department officials carried out a raid on the first floor of a building at Muglisara, opposite the police station. One of the officials first visited the building to find out the presence of child labourers. Afterwards, the entire team rushed in and eight children, between 10 and 12 years, were rescued.

The officials said the children worked for nearly 12 hours for Rs 200 per week. The rescued child labourers were later send to a childrens’ home at Katargam. The officials also arrested the owner of the unit, Mujib Shaikh.

Assistant Labour Commissioner Kirit Patel said, “In most of our raids, we have found that children from Purnia and neighbouring districts in Bihar are brought to Surat for such work. These children were brought to Surat and were kept locked in a room from morning till evening. Later, they were starved and forced to do work.”