Shillong, Apr 28: A young boy from Meghalaya who had been stranded in Kashmir and forced to work under exploitative conditions was rescued about two days ago thanks to the prompt response and coordination between authorities of Meghalaya and Jammu & Kashmir.
The boy was allegedly overworked, denied wages, and was subjected to abuse. Alarmingly, he had begun expressing thoughts of self-harm.
On April 24, a distress call was received at ‘1971’, the Meghalaya helpline established under the CM Connect initiative.
Recognising the urgency, the CM connect system immediately escalated the case through administrative channels and initiated coordination with authorites of Jammu & Kashmir in order to locate and rescue the boy.
Officials worked through the night, maintaining continuous communication to ensure swift action.
Within hours, a joint team comprising the Assistant Labour Commissioner and the Anti Human Trafficking Unit of Jammu & Kashmir located the boy. He was rescued from the restaurant and moved to a government shelter home, where he is now safe.
An FIR has been registered against the owner of the restaurant and formal enquiry has also been inititiated. The restaurant owner was also directed to clear all the pending ages to the boy.
CM Connect set up under the initiative of Chief Minister Conrad Sangma in February 2023 has facilitated over 70,000 instances of citizen assistance and nearly 20,000 direct interactions with the satisfaction levels reported at around 95 per cent.
