Hyderabad: Malkajgiri Police Commissionerate rescued 674 child labourers and registered 186 FIRs against employers during Operation Smile-XII, a month-long special drive conducted across the commissionerate limits in January 2026.
Police said the operation was carried out from January 1 to January 31 to trace missing children and identify minors and adolescents employed in hazardous occupations. As part of the drive, seven divisional teams were formed, each comprising one sub-inspector and four police constables, including a woman police constable, along with teams from the Anti-Human Trafficking Unit.
During the operation, police conducted inspections at hazardous industries, companies, business establishments, and other workplaces. The rescued children were produced before the concerned Child Welfare Committees for further care and rehabilitation.
Operation Smile-XII leads to FIRs, arrests across divisions
Police said that during Operation Smile-XII, cases were registered under the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, the Child and Adolescent Labour (Prohibition and Regulation) Act, 1986, and the Juvenile Justice Act. In addition to 186 FIRs, 443 general diary entries were made against managements and employers, and 189 respondents were arrested for engaging minors in labour.
Investigations revealed that several employers made children work for more than nine hours a day, paid them informal wages, and violated minimum wage norms. Police said some establishments brought child labourers from other states and subjected them to exploitation, calling the practice inhuman and against labour laws.
Of the rescued children, 376 were from Telangana, 102 from Andhra Pradesh, and 189 from other states including Bihar, Chhattisgarh, Uttar Pradesh, Odisha, West Bengal, and Jharkhand. Seven children were from Nepal. Police said the Begumpet divisional Smile Team admitted three rescued children into government schools with the help of the Education Department.
The operation was carried out under the supervision of DCP Women Safety Wing T. Usha Rani, with AHTU Inspector S. Devender and divisional Smile teams, in coordination with Child Welfare Committee members, the District Child Protection Unit, the Labour Department, Association for Voluntary Action, and Childline.
Police reiterated that child labour is a punishable offence and urged the public to report any such cases by dialling 100, 112, or Childline 1098.
