T. Radha (name changed), a daily wage labourer and resident of Semmencherry, was weeping inconsolably as she helped her 16-year-old son, who was struggling to walk, to a hospital nearby. “His right leg is swollen, he was beaten up very badly,” she cried.
Radha’s son, along with nine other youth in the area, were reportedly detained by the police over suspicion of breaking into a cell phone store on Saturday night. All the youth were in the 15-17 age group.
“The officers came to our house at 3 a.m on Monday and shoved my boy in their vehicle. They didn’t even tell me the reason properly,” alleged Radha.
ADVERTISEMENT
Around the same time, parents said, officers picked up nine other youth from the area and brought them to the station. The parents also claimed that they had witnessed the policemen beating all the youth with canes and sticks.
Parents crowded the entrance of J 10 Semmencherry police station around noon and began requesting the officers to let their wards out.
After hours of inquiry, the officers reportedly let them go one by one.
ADVERTISEMENT
“My son was wailing, but the officers kept beating him. He is only 15 years old and is a good boy,” complained Stella, who after eight hours, was finally able to take her son home.
However, officers denied having detained 10 juveniles and said that they had only arrested one person and are on the lookout for the other.
“We have CCTV footage which shows two youth breaking into the shop. We have detained one of them and will be producing him before the juvenile board,” said an officer.
Child rights experts condemned the alleged police action calling them a violation of the Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act, 2015. “In such cases, the police have to first produce the youth in front of the Juvenile Justice Board and not detain or beat them up as the parents have claimed,” said A. Devaneyan, a child rights activist.
“Today when people look at Semmenchery or Kannagi Nagar they associate it with crime. But the needs of residents are hardly addressed,” said Vanessa Peter, policy researcher, Information and Resource Centre for the Deprived Urban Communities.
“They need adequate schools, livelihood and rehabilitation. What happened to the youth is a violation of human rights,” she added.