The volunteers of the National People’s Rights and Consumer Protection Council, a rights forum, rescued a two-year-old female child, who was forced into begging, allegedly by a 35-year-old man who claimed to be her father.

Following a timely alert given by the rights group members to Child Help Line, the hapless child, who was forced into beggary was rescued with the help of police. The child was later taken to the Don Bosco Childcare Centre and orphanage at Ukkadam.

According to the D Dinesh Kumar of the rights forum, the haggard -looking man had used the child for begging, in Crosscut Road and Gandhipuram junction for days.

“We found out that the man had used the money to buy himself liquor and slept off on the pavement, while the child was left to fend for itself. We followed him and cornered him. The Child Help Line volunteers were then alerted and they helped rescue the child.”

“Many children who are born into poverty fall victim to the evil designs of child traffickers who use them for beggary. People should alert Child Help Line and help rescue the child,” said S Rajkumar, General Secretary of the forum.