A first-aid class being conducted by Conc’rn. A Telegraph picture

Siliguri, March 5: For his 14 years, Vishal Thapa (name changed) looks diminutive and docile. But his appearance and age belie the urge to break free from the shackles with which he and his two younger sisters had been tied down by their stepmother and, of late, their father, too.

On Sunday, Vishal took a major step, one that many grown-ups twice his age would hesitate to take. He convinced his sisters, packed whatever little belongings they had, and left his village in Madarihat-Birpara in the central Dooars in search of a better life.

“I wanted to go to a city where I could work and provide education to my sisters,” the boy said.

Vishal and his sisters, Durga (13) and Lakshmi (9), had been forced to leave their actual home and shift to a neighbour’s house where the elder two used to work in exchange for meals and shelter.

“Our mother had died about four years ago and some time later our father married again. From then on, we were badly treated, not given adequate food and beaten up frequently by our stepmother on every little pretext,” Vishal said today in between attending a class on first aid that the voluntary organisation, which has given them shelter, holds for rescued children.

The trio had boarded a train for Siliguri, the first time they had ventured out of their home, about 110km east from here. They got down at Siliguri Junction station with the intention of taking another train to Delhi. Their plan, however, was cut short when they were picked up by GRP personnel at the station.

“The next day, the GRP handed them over to the police at the NJP outpost who informed us,” said Biswajit Das, a senior outreach worker with Conc’rn (Care of Needy Children Rightfully Nurtured), an organisation that helps rescued and destitute children.

Priyanka Khanna, the documentation officer of Conc’rn, said a team has been sent to find out the condition of their home. “If their account is true, we will retain them or shift them to a proper home.”