Mumbai | The Railway Protection Force (RPF) of the Central Railway and the Maharashtra police on Wednesday rescued 59 children from human traffickers by conducting an operation on a Bihar-Pune train, and arrested five accused, officials said.

These children were rescued from Danapur-Pune Special express train at Bhusawal and Manmad, located in Jalgaon and Nashik districts, respectively, in Maharashtra, they said.

"On the basis of reliable information, the RPF along with the local police and members of an NGO rushed to the spot and conducted a check at the Bhusawal station. A total of 29 children aged between eight and 15 years were rescued. Later, another 30 children in the same age group were rescued from the train at Manmad. Five persons were arrested on the charge of human trafficking," an RPF official said.

The exercise was carried out under 'Operation AAHT', he said.

As per the preliminary information, these children were being brought from Bihar and sent to Sangli, the official said, adding that the five accused were booked under the anti-human trafficking laws.

The accused were produced in a court, he said.

In a tweet, the RPF said, "PRAYAS with state police came together to bust a child trafficking ring, leading to the rescue of 59 children with arrest of 5 traffickers at Bhusawal and Manmad stations. A powerful collaboration making a tangible difference in the fight against exploitation."