18 girls rescued from Bihar school reach Tripura

Eighteen girls rescued by Bihar Police from a Buddhist school and meditation centre in Bodh Gaya have reached Tripura, officials said on Saturday, as authorities prepare to investigate the circumstances under which the children were sent to the institution.

The girls, aged between 12 and 14, had reportedly been sent to the school by their parents around six months ago.

A senior official said Bihar Police rescued a large number of children from the institution last month after parents complained that they were being mistreated by a monk.

The Bihar Police handed over the rescued children to a team of Tripura Police earlier this week. The 18 girls arrived in Agartala on Friday night, Tripura Child Rights Commission Chairperson Nilima Ghosh told IANS.

Health and Family Welfare Minister Sudip Roy Barman, along with Ghosh, received the girls at Agartala railway station.

Barman said the children had been sent to the Bihar-based institution without informing or obtaining permission from the Tripura government. He said the state administration would take up the issue with the Bihar government and that Tripura Police would jointly investigate the matter with their Bihar counterparts.

Of the 18 girls, 15 are from Tripura, while two are from Arunachal Pradesh and one is from neighbouring Assam.

The children are currently under the care of Child Line, an organisation working for child protection. Ghosh said arrangements would be made to reunite the girls with their families soon.

The case has raised concerns over the safety and monitoring of children sent by families to residential educational or religious institutions outside their home states. The proposed joint investigation is expected to examine the allegations of mistreatment, the circumstances surrounding the children's admission and whether proper procedures were followed when they were sent to the institution.