ALAPPUZHA: The district child welfare committee has decided to tighten the noose on orphanages in the wake of the Railway Protection Force rescuing seven minor boys of Jharkhand from the Kayamkulam railway station on Saturday night.
K.K. Joseph, CWC member, said that the committee members would visit all the 14 orphanages in the district to check their registration under the Juvenile Justice Act and the facilities provided to the inmates.
“The committee summoned 31 Palakkad tribal community inmates of Nirmalanada Balabhavan run by Sree Rama Krishna Ashram Kayamkulam to Cherthala on Wednesday. The committee cross-checked the details of the children with the list provided by the Palakkad CWC. An inspection of the orphanage is also planned,” he said.
Deccan Chronicle had carried a report on November 18, 2014 that 27 inmates in the orphanage had registered complaints with the Childline alleging harassment by the warden.
V. Rajendran, PRO, Sree Rama Krishna Ashram, objected to taking all the 31 children to Cherthala, 71 km from Kayamkulam, for the inspection.
“The CWC representatives should have verified the details at the orphanage. The children did not get timely food and missed their sch-ool on Wednesday due to the journey. We have decided to register a complaint against the CWC for summoning the children there,” he said.
The seven rescued boys were brought for a religious organisation in Pathanamthitta district. Mr Joseph said that the CWC had contacted its counterpart in Godha district of Jharkhand to decide the future course of action.
The boys are currently at the government children’s home at Mayithara, near Cherthala, he said. Muhamad Munavar, a Jharkhand native, was arrested in connection with the incident.
