The Kerala State Commission for Protection of Child Rights on Thursday registered a suo motu case on an incident of displaying a toddler allegedly tied to an artificial leaf for hours during a cultural pageantry held at Payyannur here on the occasion of Sree Krishna Jayanti on September 12.
The commission directed the Home Secretary, State Police Chief (SPC), District Collector, District Police Chief and Child Protection Officer to submit reports on the incident in a week.
The Home Secretary and the SPC were also asked to submit a report on the progress of implementation of the commission’s earlier orders for checking child rights violations.
The incident occurred as part of a Shobha Yatra organised by Balagokulam, the pro-Sangh Parivar children’s outfit.
Facebook post
It was brought to light by Payyannur-based activist Sreekanth Usha Prabhakaran by posting on his Facebook page the photo he had taken of the toddler. “I saw the child displayed on the artificial leaf and immediately I dialled the Childline number,” said Mr. Prabhakaran. The person who picked up the phone wanted to know if the child or parents had any complaint, he said adding his objective was to raise consciousness about child rights. He disclosed that he got an Internet telephone call threatening him with consequences for posting the photo of the child.
District Child Welfare Committee chairman T.A. Mathew said that as soon as Childline received the complaint over the phone, it forwarded the information to the police. Now that the child rights commission has registered the case, it will go to the police for investigation, he said.
Panel guidelines
“The commission and the Home Department have issued separate guidelines and orders on the participation of children in processions and public functions,” KSCRC chairperson Shoba Koshy told The Hindu .
