The National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) has directed the police to register a case under various sections of the Indian Penal Code and the Juvenile Justice Act against those who forced about 20 children to pierce their cheeks with steel rods as part of a ritual held last October for the speedy recovery of the then Chief Minister Jayalalithaa.
The Commission directed the authorities concerned to take disciplinary action against the police personnel who were present at the spot on October 3, 2016, during the incident but failed to stop it.
The Commission did not accept the contention of the Commissioner of Greater Chennai Police that the children had the “approval” of the parents to participate in the ritual.
An official release said, the NHRC failed to understand how the consent of the parents, or that of the children for the ritual, can justify the criminal act of piercing children’s cheeks with two-metre-long steel rods.
As for the Commissioner’s contention that the erring police personnel had been severely warned, the Commission stated, “Admittedly, the police officers present at the site of the incident did nothing to stop it. Therefore, a simple warning to the erring police personnel is abysmal considering the gravity of the incident.”
The Commissioner had, in his report, confirmed that the incident took place in October 2016 when the children were made to walk from Murugan temple in R.K. Nagar to Seniamman temple in Manikondu, Tondiarpet, “by the supporters of the AIADMK.”
The report added that the children participated in the event “with the approval of their parents and were not forced to do so” and further stated that the police personnel, who attended the bandobust duty in connection with the event, “had been severely warned.”
