Stress laid on role of forensic study under POCSO Act

‘Forensic experts should never assume themselves as investigators’

Police officers attending an awareness seminar on POCSO Act under the ‘Alert’ scheme in the city on Friday.

Kozhikode: The first awareness session under the ‘Alert’ legal literacy drive on POCSO (Protection of Children from Sexual Offences) Act was conducted for police officers in Kozhikode on Friday. District and Sessions Judge M.R. Anitha opened the sessions and released the official logo of the scheme, which was mooted by Childline India Foundation.

The inaugural session revolved around the medical, psycho-social, and investigative aspects of cases registered under the POCSO Act and precautions to be taken to ensure the rights of survivors without revealing their identity in any circumstance.

Introducing the medical aspects of child sexual abuse to police officers, K. Prasannan, head of the department of forensic sciences, Medical College, Kozhikode, said forensic experts should never assume themselves as investigators as their role was limited to figuring out and recording the physical changes in the survivor’s body after an assault which would naturally lead to a more scientific investigation.

Dr. Prasannan also pointed out that doctors were not supposed to conduct medical check-up on the basis of police directions alone without obtaining the survivor’s consent. “It can be done only with the survivor’s consent and that too in the presence of his or her parents or responsible guardians,” he added. The forensic expert also stressed the need for conducting medical examinations in time.

In his presentation on the ‘Role of police in enforcing POCSO Act,’ Sreelal Warrier, Special Public Prosecutor, POCSO Cases, Union Territory of Lakshadweep, said the Act was introduced in the country at a time when protection of children from sexual offences was seen as a legal obligation by the court rather than a moral obligation. He said a proper understanding of the nuances of each section by the police and registering cases with utmost precision on the basis of such an understanding would only ensure justice to survivors in POCSO cases.

District Probation Officer Ashraf Kavil addressed a session on the psycho-social aspects of child sexual abuse.