Kids allegedly made to beg during Ganesh immersion in Kalyan, police probe launched

A disturbing case of alleged exploitation of young children has come to light during Ganesh idol immersion at the Durgadi creek area in Kalyan. Amid the beat of dhol-tasha drums and chants of "Ganpati Bappa Morya," as idols were being immersed, a few children aged three to four were seen with unusual paint on their bodies, allegedly begging from people. This was captured in a video that quickly went viral on social media.

It is alleged that the children were made to beg by taking advantage of the huge crowd gathered for the immersion. Their bodies were painted, and they were allegedly forced to move through the crowd asking people for money.

The matter came to light when advocate Aniruddha Kulkarni, who was present at the spot, noticed it. On seeing the condition of the children, he immediately intervened and alerted the police deployed for bandobast at the immersion site. Kulkarni demanded that police investigate who had brought the children to beg, who was with them, and whether they were being forced to beg in this manner.

Notably, heavy police bandobast had been deployed in the Durgadi creek area in view of the Ganesh immersion, yet the incident occurred, raising questions about the safety of children. There are demands for the people involved to be identified using the viral video and for the matter to be investigated thoroughly.

It is currently unclear who brought the children there and for what purpose, whether they were pressured into begging, and who painted their bodies. The real picture will only emerge after a police investigation. At this stage, the claim that children were forced to beg should be treated as an allegation.