The Chhattisgarh state police admitted that they had recruited children under age 18 as special police officers due to the absence of age documentation, but claimed that all children have been removed from the ranks.
However, HRW investigators in Chhattisgarh found that underage SPOs continue to serve with the police and are used in counter-Naxalite combing operations.
A 58-page Human Rights Watch report 'Dangerous Duty: Children and the Chhattisgarh Conflict' updates information on the use of children by all parties to the conflict, the harm they have suffered, and the adverse impact of the conflict on children's education.
The report is based on information gathered from more than 160 interviews with villagers, Salwa Judum camp residents, police, SPOs, and former child Naxalites in Chhattisgarh state.
Image: a special police officer gers up to resume patrolling after a break.
Also read: Naxals, India's enemy within
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