As many as seven children working as labourers were rescued from a roadside eatery and its owner arrested from a locality here, police said.
Acting on a complaint, the Child Protection Unit of Thane Police conducted a raid at a roadside eatery in Shil-Daighar locality last night and rescued the children who were working there, inspector Madan Ballal said.
The rescued children, all from Uttar Pradesh, are in the age group of 12-14 years, he said.
Police were trying to find out details of the wages paid to the children and the number of hours they were made to work every day, he said.
The eatery owner, identified as Shahnawaz Imtiaz Bhaktrawala from Mumbra area of Thane, was arrested for employing children as labourers.
He has been charged under section 374 (unlawful compulsory labour) of the Indian Penal Code, sections 23 and 26 of the Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act and also section 3 of the Child Labour (Prohibition and Regulation) Act 1986, Ballal said.
Police were in the process of sending the rescued children to a remand home and gathering details of their whereabouts, he added.
