The Palakkad Railway Police have arrested a Jharkhand native on charges of attempting to traffic minors to work at a cardamom plantation in Idukki. The accused was identified as Dinesh Soran (27), a native of Bagalpur in Dumka district. The children were found aboard the Dhanbad Express on Monday morning.

Palakkad RPF Inspector told Onmanorama that the group was found in suspicious circumstances during an inspection by Railway Protection Force (RPF) officials after the train stopped at Platform No. 3 of Palakkad railway station around 10.45 am.

"It was two young boys and a girl, all from Dumka district in Jharkhand and all below the age of 18. When asked who they were accompanied by, they pointed to a man. Upon questioning him, we realised that the accused, who is a plantation worker in Idukki, was in no way related to the children," he said.

"During further interrogation, we came to know that the accused, who had settled in Kerala since 2021, had paid money to the families of the children to take them for labour at a cardamom plantation in Idukki. These children had dropped out of school after Class 8," he added.

Police said the children did not have valid documents and that their Aadhaar cards were fake. They have been shifted to a shelter home for further care, officials added.

The accused was handed over to the Palakkad Railway Police and was produced before court. Further investigation is on. 

According to officials, this is the third case this year involving the trafficking of children for labour at plantations in Idukki and Pathanamthitta districts. "The children are usually made to work under harsh conditions without access to proper amenities. They are also denied education," police added.