A suo motu case has been registered by the Kerala State Commission for Protection of Child Rights on Wednesday in connection with the Kuthiyottam ritual performed at the Attukal Bhagavathy temple here as part of Pongala festival.
The commission, which registered the case on the basis of newspaper reports, said it would examine if the ritual, involving piercing of a hook on children’s sides after five days’ penance, violated child rights in any manner.
The intervention of the commission, headed by chairperson Shoba Koshy, comes a day after Director General of Police (Prisons) R. Sreelekha came out against the ritual and demanded steps to put an end to it.
In her blog titled ‘Time to stop this yearly crime in the name of faith,’ Ms. Sreelekha wrote: “... for 1,000 odd boys, it’s torture time in Attukal now. Parents conspire with temple authorities to put their children through rigorous mental and physical abuse for five days...”
Ms. Sreelekha, who is the first woman IPS officer in the State, pointed out that causing physical and mental pain to children was offences under Sections 89, 319, 320, 349, 350, 351 of the Indian Penal Code. The Juvenile Justice Act and the Child Welfare Commission Act also penalised it. The Attukal Bhagavathy Temple Trust has deplored the blog and said it had been issued without understanding the ritual and traditions followed in the temple.
“The blog had been written at a time when the Pongala festival is going on smoothly and it is intended to create fear in the minds of devotees and parents of children who are participating in the ritual,” the trust said in a statement on Wednesday.
Age-old tradition
Replying to questions on the DGP’s demand at a press conference convened at the trust office to announce the details of the Pongala on March 2, trust secretary K. Sisupalan Nair said it was an age-old tradition that had been going on in the temple and there had been no complaints from any quarters.
“The parents bring the children for the ritual on the basis of their faith and there are no complaints of pain or suffering,” he said, adding the blog had come to the notice of the government.
The trust would meet and take its future course of action after seeking the opinion of all concerned, including the standing counsel, he said.
