Ranchi, Aug. 28: Two back-to-back attempts at trafficking in minor girls were thwarted at Ranchi station today, barely 24 hours after a help desk linked to national helpline for children was set up at Ranchi station.

In the first case, acting on a tip-off from Lohardaga district child protection officer Birendra Kumar, officials at Ranchi station apprehended 40-year-old Muneer Alam, who after marrying a minor was heading to his hometown of Gorakhpur along with the parents of the girl.

The second case involved a public prosecutor. Lawyer Ganesh Shankar Vidhyarthi and his wife from Gumla were stopped from boarding Delhi-bound Anand Vihar Express with a girl of around 10 after an anonymous call to the 1098 national Childline number, alleging a trafficking bid.

Alam and the minor girl's parents (the father identified himself as Rojan Ansari, while mother's name could not be ascertained) were detained by Childline officials at the station and handed over to railway police after questioning. The girl was sent to Premashraya, a shelter home.

Vidhyarthi and his wife, Childline sources said, were, however, let off late in the evening, as per instructions from Child Welfare Committee (CWC), apparently at the intervention of Bar Council members.

The 1098 kiosk was launched at Ranchi station yesterday to protect young girls and boys from people smugglers who rampantly used the accessible railway route for their illegal trade.

A joint initiative of the Union ministry of women and child development and voluntary outfit Childline India Foundation, 1098 is a 24/7 nationwide helpline for distressed children. The helpline reaches out to 291 districts across India and has more than 600 non-profit partners.

A Childline member who was witness to the dramatic catches at the station today provided details. "At 2:35pm, we received an alert from Lohardaga about the minor being forcibly taken to Gorakhpur after marriage. We caught them after they got off Lohardga Mail that arrived at 2pm," he said.

In her statement to Childline, the girl said that her parents weren't at fault but that Alam and his uncle had used force to marry her. "The girl said she wanted to study. Alam's uncle fled. Alam said he wasn't aware of child marriage rules. We detained the girl's parents and Alam and then handed them over to railway police. The girl will be produced before Child Welfare Committee (CWC) tomorrow at 11am," he added.

CWC chairperson Jahan Ara explained why the public prosecutor and his wife weren't detained. "Prima facie, it didn't look like a case of child trafficking. Still, we have asked them to appear before CWC tomorrow morning," she said.

Ara said that Vidhyarthi told them they were going to Delhi to see his children on vacation. "He said they were taking the girl with them and even booked her return tickets. He said they were raising her as she was alone... her mother had died and her father had married again. He said they had had also enrolled her in a school in Gumla," she said, but added that that CWC would independently verify the claims tomorrow.