The denial of permission to B. Sri Lalitha to meet her nine-year-old son, B. Srinivas, who was traced during ‘Operation Muskaan’ reportedly by the Child Welfare Committee (CWC) of Krishna district, came in for sharp criticism from child rights organisations.
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Srinivas, who was kept in a Child Care Institution (CCI) in Vijayawada, was traced during the sixth phase of ‘Operation Muskaan’ being conducted from July 14 to 20. The boy is a native of Lakshmi Nagar, Palakol town in West Godavari district.
“As per the directions of the higher authorities, we deputed a team headed by sub-inspector J.V.N. Prasad, along with the boy’s mother to meet him on Friday. But, the home organisers said CWC Chairman B.V.S. Kumar has directed them not to allow any person into the home and stopped Ms. Sri Lalitha, the SI and others for some time. The woman was allowed to meet her son only after the intervention of higher officials,” said Palakol CI Ch. Anjaneyulu.
“The boy’s mother, who was eager to see her child, was seen weeping. We came on official duty after alerting the CWC chairman, but we were ill-treated at the home. Mr. Kumar argued that the boy was not rescued in ‘Operation Muskaan’, and blamed the police for trying to gain mileage from the issue,” said a team member.
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Speaking to The Hindu , Mr. Kumar said he never gave any instructions to the home management to stop the team which came from Palakol, but asked to follow the procedure.
Director-General of Police D. Gautam Sawang said the police, during the pandemic, were trying to rescue the missing, runaway and trafficked children and reunite them with their parents. Police were taking up the drive by strictly following the COVID-19 protocol, he said.
“We are following the directions of the Supreme Court. Instructions have been given to coordinate with the line departments and supply sanitisers, masks, Vitamin-C tablets and good diet for all rescued children and take every care till they are handed over to their parents,” the DGP said.
Criticised
Meanwhile, activists of child rights organisations criticised the Krishna district CWC for allegedly “insulting” the boy’s mother at the home.
“Under Section 3 of (Clause 12 and 13) Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act, 2015, institutionalisation is the last resort for a child, and the boy should be reunited with parents, if traced,” said a child rights activist and blamed the CWC for “harassing” the boy’s mother.
The United National Child Rights Convention (UNCRC), Article 9, clearly says a child should be reunited with its parents as every child had a right to stay with parents and have a family life. The child should not be deprived of parents love, said the representative of a child-welfare organisation.