How a Delhi Lawyer Freed 2788 Children From Bonded Labour & Took Them to School

Jun 19, 2026, 08:40 PM

“What will he gain from school?” a father asked as his young son served tea instead of attending class. The question stayed with lawyer Shekhar Mahajan and, in 2002, became the beginning of Sahyog Care For You—a mission to rescue children trapped in labour.

What Shekhar had witnessed wasn't an isolated incident. Across India, thousands of children were being pushed out of classrooms and into work by poverty, debt and desperation. A system known as bonded labour and prohibited under (Prohibition & Regulation) Act, 1986.

"Children are cheap labour for factory owners," says Harish Kumar from Sahyog Care For You. "They don't voice their difficulties like adults." And that silence often becomes their prison.

Rescuing a child isn't as simple as opening a factory door. The team spends days gathering evidence, tracking locations, documenting abuse and identifying children. Sometimes they work under CCTV surveillance. Sometimes in disguise.

One such mission unfolded in October 2023. Acting on intelligence, the team entered a hidden room in Delhi's Wazirpur industrial area. Inside were 12 children working up to 17 hours a day. The youngest was just five years old.

When the rescue team arrived with police and government officials, the children finally stepped outside. For some, it was the first time in days they had seen sunlight. For all of them, it was the first step towards freedom.

But rescue is only the beginning. Many children are traumatised. Some are afraid of adults. Others have spent so long working that they struggle to imagine a different life. That's why Sahyog helps them return to school, access counselling, and learn vocational skills.

Today, some rescued children are students. A 20-year-old now works as a data operator. Another was reunited with her father after four years apart. Proof that when a child is rescued, more than a life changes. A future does too.