In a major breakthrough against child trafficking and exploitation, the Crime Against Women and Children (CAWC) Wing of Odisha Police, in collaboration with the State Department of Women and Child Development (WCD), has successfully identified and rescued 101 Odia children from 17 states across India.
The special 12-day operation, dubbed ‘Operation Anweshan’, was conducted from August 28 to September 8, 2026. Addressing a press conference in Bhubaneswar, Shyni S, Additional Director General of Police (ADGP), CAWC Wing, confirmed that the rescued group comprises 54 boys and 47 girls.
To execute the drive, Odisha Police deployed 17 specialized teams, each consisting of a Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP) level officer and a Legal-cum-Probation Officer from the WCD Department. These joint teams conducted raids on labor sites and child care facilities in close coordination with local state authorities.
The operation spanned 17 states: West Bengal, Karnataka, Jharkhand, Tamil Nadu, Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh, Telangana, Andhra Pradesh, Assam, Bihar, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, New Delhi, Rajasthan, Maharashtra, Gujarat, and Kerala.
| State | Rescued Children | Lead Officer / Supervision |
| West Bengal | 30 | DSP Bamadev Nanda (Supervised by Balasore Eastern Range DIG Pinak Mishra) |
| Karnataka | 11 | Berhampur Southern Range DSP Prashant Kumar Patra |
| Jharkhand | 10 | Northern Central Range DSP Jyotsnarani Behera |
| Tamil Nadu | 10 | Berhampur Southern Range DSP Girijanandan Pattnaik |
During the campaign, police gathered intelligence on missing children, victims of trafficking, child laborers, and children stranded in various institutional care homes:
- Missing Children: 11 children (2 boys and 9 girls) who were reported missing in previously registered kidnapping FIRs were successfully rescued.
- Child Laborers: 7 children (6 boys and 1 girl) forced into child labor at various commercial sites were rescued.
- Child Care Institutions (CCIs): 83 Odia children (46 boys and 37 girls) stranded in various CCIs were identified. Out of these, 80 children have already been brought back to Odisha, while the repatriation process for the remaining children is underway.
Operation Anweshan highlighted several critical humanitarian interventions. Teams identified a minor Odia girl in another state who had recently given birth to a three-month-old baby. Authorities have taken immediate steps to bring both mother and infant safely back to Odisha. Also a one-year-old child residing in a child care home was identified, and active steps are being taken to reunite the infant with their mother.
Highlighting the objective of the mission, ADGP Shyni S emphasized that Operation Anweshan aims to protect vulnerable children from hazardous environments and ensure their legal protection, rehabilitation, and safe return to their families and home state.
