By Sampath Kumar BBC reporter in Madras

Police in the southern Indian state of Tamil Nadu say they have broken a child trafficking ring and rescued 42 girls.

According to the police the girls aged between 12 and 16, were rescued while they were about to board a train to the western state of Gujarat.

The children said they were being transported to Gujarat to work there in a private power station.

Police have arrested five people, including three women, in connection with this.

Children's rights activists say there should be effective monitoring at the railway stations, as they have become key mode for trafficking children in the state.

Poverty

Police said they have increased vigil at such places.

On Tuesday, police in the southern city of Coimbatore rescued 10 children when they were being taken to work as domestic servants and baby sitters in the neighbouring state of Kerala.

Three agents were arrested. They said they were being paid five hundred rupees or $10 as commission for every child recruited.

Child rights activists have called for better vigilance at railway platforms

Thirteen -year-old Santha Kumar, narrated his harrowing tales to journalists about his life in the state of Orissa where he worked as a labourer in a sweetmeat shop.

No wages were paid and he had to toil in heat with the oil vats for long hours.

Torture

When he asked for the promised wages, the owner of the shop tortured him and confined him to a small room.

He escaped and arrived in Madras on Tuesday to join his parents in the village in the southern district of Ramanathapuram.

At least 50 children have been rescued from sweet meat shops from the states of Orissa, Gujarat and Rajastahan in the past few months.

Several non-governmental organisations say most of the children are taken with the consent of the poverty stricken parents who are lured by the false promises of the agents.