Restaurant owner booked for employing 12-year-old in Ahmedabad

A restaurant owner in Ahmedabad was booked after police allegedly found a 12-year-old boy working at an eatery in the Gota area during a raid conducted under a statewide anti-human trafficking and child protection drive.

As per an FIR registered at Chandkheda Police Station, the raid was carried out on May 1 at Mr Egg Wala Premium Outlet, located at Money Plant High Street in Jagatpur, Gota, as part of 'Operation Sur', a campaign launched by Gujarat Police to curb human trafficking and child labour.

Police said a 12-year-old boy from Rajasthan’s Pratapgarh district, was found working at the outlet and was subsequently rescued.

During questioning, the boy allegedly told police that he was made to work from 9 am to midnight at the restaurant for a promised monthly wage of ₹11,000. However, he claimed that only ₹500 had been paid to him since he began working there on April 8.

Based on the child’s statement and the findings of the raid, police booked the restaurant owner, Dinesh Kishanlal Kalal, a resident of Dariapur-Bardolpura in Ahmedabad, for allegedly employing a child in violation of labour laws.

An offence has been registered against him under sections of the Child and Adolescent Labour (Prohibition and Regulation) Act, 1986, along with relevant provisions of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita.