In a targeted rescue operation, 21 children forced into begging were removed from the streets of Ludhiana and Shaheed Bhagat Singh (SBS) Nagar in Punjab. Conducted by local authorities in collaboration with child welfare departments, the effort is part of a wider initiative to combat child exploitation and trafficking in urban and semi-urban pockets of the state. The rescued minors, some of whom were living in deplorable conditions, have been placed under institutional care pending further inquiry.