Activist alleges lapses in police action in closing illegal home

“The police officers on their own, had sent eight out of nine children to their respective families instead of producing them before the Child Welfare Committee for appropriate enquiry and rehabilitation,” he pointed out.

Of the eight children, a 14-year-old girl was pregnant due to rape by a 67-year-old man identified as Prabhu Das, father of Immanuel, who was running the home. The police had arrested Prabhu Das after the teenaged girl delivered a baby girl in hospital.

Police had failed to inform the department of Social Welfare/ DCPO and the jurisdictional Child Welfare Committee (CWC). “ As per Section 32 of the Juvenile Justice Act, 2000, and as per Tamil Nadu Juvenile Justice Rules, 2001, it is the duty of the police to immediately refer the rescued children before the CWC, Narayanan said in his letter.

“This also once again proves the fact that Special Juvenile Police Units and Child Welfare Officers in Police Stations of Tamil Nadu exist only on paper,” he added. If only all the children had been produced before the CWC on July 5 by the Child Welfare Officer of Selaiyur Police station, then, detailed enquiry and medical examination arranged by the CWC/Social Welfare officers would have brought to light the advanced pregnancy condition of not only the 14-year old victim of repeated sexual abuse but also whether other children were also victims of sexual or physical abuse. This would have helped for arranging timely relief and rehabilitation, which has been denied to the victims in the above incident, he said.

Police should take this as wake up call and to conduct a massive sensitization exercise throughout Tamil Nadu amongst the police personnel at all levels on appropriate handling of situations involving juveniles in conflict with law as well as those in need of care and protection, said Narayanan, part of an NGO ‘CHANGE India’.