India, Sept. 12 -- LUCKNOW For the 12 boys rescued at Gonda railway station on Thursday, a journey their families may have imagined as a route out of poverty, could have ended in an uncertain and potentially dangerous future. The children, aged 12 to 16 and from Motihari in Bihar, were allegedly being taken to Pehowa in Haryana's Kurukshetra district to work at a rice mill after their families were allegedly lured with promises of jobs and paid money in advance.

According to the Railway Protection Force (RPF), the families were allegedly persuaded to hand over the children in return for payments ranging from Rs.2,500 to Rs.12,000 per child. Officials said some families were allegedly paid Rs.8,000 to Rs.10,000 as advance before the child...