Furious over lack of proper food and other amenities at a juvenile home in Majnu Ka Tila here, a group of inmates allegedly clashed with the security staff, set beddings ablaze and pelted stones at fire tenders and nearby buildings during a high-voltage drama that started on late Wednesday evening and resumed in the early hours of Thursday.
According to the police, it was at around 10 p.m. on Wednesday after the dinner had been served that some of the minor delinquents lodged at the juvenile home had an argument with one of the care-takers about the quality of the food.
“This soon heated up and in no time it turned into a violent argument as the group climbed the boundary wall of the care home and started pelting stones at nearby houses, damaging around a dozen of them,” said a police officer.
The police was informed but had to remain out of the action as they did not get the permission from the Department of Social Welfare. A group of policemen, however, cordoned off the premises from outside to prevent any inmate from fleeing the juvenile home.
The welfare home officials, meanwhile, continued their efforts to pacify the minors and brought the situation under control around midnight.
The ensuing calm, however, was short lived as a couple of hours later violence erupted again and the situation aggravated as the delinquents set blankets and certain other articles on fire. According to a fire service official, a call was received around 4 a.m. and four fire tenders were rushed to the spot which put out the fire in around half-an-hour. It is learnt that the juveniles even pelted stones on the fire tenders.
Around 10-30 a.m. on Thursday, two Principal Magistrates of Juvenile Justice Board reached the spot and met the aggrieved children and after assurances from them the situation was brought under control. Four juveniles, who allegedly initiated the violence, have been shifted.
