Police detained parents of circus children

June 18, 2004
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A police raid to rescue Nepali children working in a circus in India’s Uttar Pradesh state on Tuesday turned violent and Indian police have taken four parents and a rescued child into custody, Nepalnews.com has learnt from sources in Lucknow.

Parents of the children and rights activists Nepal Child Welfare Foundation (NCWF) and South Asian Coalition Against Child Servitude (SACCS) who had gone to The Great Roman Circus to rescue the girls with police were attacked by the circus owner. Four of the parents and a rescued girl are said to be still under police custody at the subdistrict magistrate’s office in Gonda.

Nepali and Indian activists have lodged a strong protest against the detention and are demanding an immediate release of the parents. “The incident must be investigated and this unwarranted detention immediately ended,” said Nepali Times on Friday, quoting an NCWF press statement.

The activists also urged the Indian police to launch a search for the missing girls before they are lost completely. There were as many as 35 Nepali girls, many of them underaged, working at the circus before the raid.

There are reports that the owner of The Great Roman Circus has now been arrested and is now in police custody. The reports added that Nita Lama – the only girl to be rescued – has already filed several cases at the Chief Judicial Magistrate’s Court of Gonda district accusing him of rape, bonded labour and torture.

However, the five Nepalis are still said to be in detention.