Bhubaneswar: Alarmed by reports of sexual harassment of inmates of child shelter homes at Deoria of Uttar Pradesh (UP) and Muzaffarpur in Bihar, the state police have initiated moves to guard against such incidents in the state.
Director General of Police (DGP) RP Sharma Monday instructed all the SPs including Railway Police District (SRP), Rourkela and DCP of Bhubaneswar and Cuttack to do a thorough verification of child care institutions (CCIs) under their jurisdiction.
According to Section 75 of the Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act, 2005, if any person who is in charge of a child shelter assaults, abandons, abuses, exposes or wilfully neglects the child he/she shall be jailed for three years or slapped with a fine of `1 lakh or both, the DGP said.
As per Section 19 of the POCSO Act, 2012, any person who apprehends that an offence under the Act is likely to be committed or has knowledge that such an offence has been committed should provide information to the Special Juvenile Police Unit (SJPU) and the local police, the DGP clarified.
In order to streamline activities of CCIs and check offences in children’s shelter homes, Sharma instructed SPs to constitute a team comprising officers of Investigative Unit on Crimes Against Women (IUCAW)/Integrated Anti Human Trafficking Unit (IAHTU)/ SJPU including lady officers for checking shelter homes and submit reports.
The teams will collect information on:
Staffing pattern and registers maintained by the shelter homes containing details of inmates and organisers
Detailed info on sources of finance
Safety measures like boundary wall, CCTVs etc
Functions organised by the CCIs, persons frequently visiting the centre and the purpose of such visits
Communication systems like Internet facility, cell phones and televisions available
Medical facilities at the centre, and details of doctors and nurses appointed
Name of the school where children are studying, name of tutors and persons in charge of students who are pursuing studies
Details of staff and members of the management committee including their addresses and phone numbers
The visiting teams should also verify the records and actual children in the shelter homes. The interaction with inmates should be in a free and congenial atmosphere. One lady officer must talk to female inmates.
The inmates should be specially asked if they have any complaints of sexual abuse. The visiting teams must behave in a polite manner with inmates as well as the management., the DGP said.