A total of 21 children, including two girls, who were forced into child labour, were rescued from different shops in Sadar Bazar of the Delhi Cantonment area of South West District, the police said on Wednesday.

A rescue operation was carried out on October 8 by Tehsildar Delhi Cantonment along with help from NGOs, Labour Department, and the local police, said an official.

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19 of the 21 children rescued have been sent to Mukti Ashram, Burari while two girls were sent to Rainbow Girls Home, Kashmere gate, the official added.

Following the rescue operation, the police registered a case under Section 74, 79 of the Juvenile Justice Act and Section 3, 14 of the Child Labour Act, against the offending shop owners at Delhi cantonment police station.

In August this year, the police rescued 18 children, who were working in a jute bag manufacturing factory, in a similar operation conducted in North East Delhi. The rescued children were in the age group of 11 to 17 years and belonged to Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, and Uttarakhand.