Guwahati: As many as 42 children from Assam have been saved in Sikkim and brought back to the state on Friday, said Minister Himanta Buswa Sarma.
The parents of children, coming from four Chirang District villages along the Indo-Bhutan border, were lured by two people who convinced that their education would be taken care of, but they ended up as domestic aid, Sarma told reporters here.
Both were accused of being arrested and during interrogation, one of them claimed that in the past two years, 80 children had been traded from the country, with several sent to Dubai too, officials said.
Operations to save children were initiated by Chirang police under the guidance of the head of the Bodoland Territorial Board of Bodoland Bodo and DGP Special Bishnoi, while Sikkim police provided assistance and cooperation needed.