Bhubaneswar, May 24 -- 17 minors from Chhattisgarh, Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh were rescued from Bolangir railway station in Odisha on Saturday after they were allegedly being transported for work to another location. This prompted a multi-agency investigation into suspected child labour trafficking.

The Railway Protection Force (RPF) intercepted the group and detained an alleged labour contractor, identified as Ramesh Pandu, who was reportedly accompanying the children.

Authorities suspect that a larger network may be involved in the movement of child labourers and have launched a detailed inquiry into the matter.

According to preliminary information, the rescued minors were working at Purunakatak for the past 18 days. They were...