Patna, March 29 : In a significant breakthrough, the East Champaran Police in Bihar, in collaboration with the Sashastra Seema Bal (SSB), rescued 400 youths from a private placement company in Motihari on Saturday.

The operation was conducted under the supervision of Raxaul SDPO, following a tip-off received by East Champaran SP Swarn Prabhat.

'We received information about youth being held captive by a private placement company in Motihari. Acting swiftly, a joint team of the district police and SSB conducted a raid on DBR Group and rescued 400 children,' SP Swarn Prabhat told IANS.

The rescued youths, with the majority of them below 18 years old, were lured with lucrative job offers, primarily in the medical field, by the DBR Group.

Once they fell into the trap, the company allegedly held them captive and pressured their parents to pay Rs 5,000 to Rs 10,000 per month.

'They had been held captive for the last four months. The victims hail from Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Rajasthan, and Nepal,' said Prabhat.

The police have arrested five individuals associated with DBR Group. Authorities have also begun coordinating with the Labour Enforcement Officer to ensure legal action against the accused.

'Many such groups are running fraudulent job schemes in the name of networking and marketing, extorting money and brainwashing people. Our team is determined to destroy such networks,' added Prabhat.

The police are now tracking similar companies operating in the district to prevent such exploitation in the future.

An FIR has been registered under relevant sections, and the investigation is underway. This rescue operation has brought attention to the growing menace of fake placement networks exploiting vulnerable children and families.

Authorities have assured that strict action will be taken to dismantle such operations.

/IANS