Karnal, September 4: Authorities today claimed to have united at least 17 children, who were “rescued” from Dera Sacha Sauda’s Shahi Ashray Ashram in Sirsa, with their families by the Child Welfare Committee.

“With the order of CWC, Sirsa, we had received 34 children, including 13 minor. The children have been given all kind of facilities at Haryana Rajya Bal Bhawan,” said Surinder Mann, chairman, CWC, Karnal.

These children were shifted to Haryana Rajya Bal Bhawan in Madhuban on August 28 following the conviction of dera chief Gurmeet Ram Rahim by a CBI court in Panchkula.

As per the authorities, most of the children had refused to go back to their homes, but after several rounds of counselling they were persuaded to go back to their homes. Most of the children belong to Haryana and neighbouring UP, Punjab and Rajasthan.

“With the order of CWC, Sirsa, we had received 34 children, including 13 minor. The children have been given all kind of facilities at Haryana Rajya Bal Bhawan,” said Surinder Mann, chairman, CWC, Karnal.

Seventeen children have been reunited with their families and efforts are being made to reunite others as well, he said.

The CWC chairman suspects that eight children do not have a family and they could be left as orphans.

One family had given in writing to the CWC that they had left their ward at the dera on their own for care and protection, but they were not allowed to meet him on several occasions, the chairman said.

Police personnel have also been deployed in civil uniform around the centre, he maintained.

Deputy Commissioner Aditya Dahiya says the CWC has been providing all kind of facilities to these children and efforts are underway to reunite them with their family members.