Responsible departments fail to produce child rape victim before CWC

Responsible departments fail to produce child rape victim before CWC

Mangalore Today News Network

Mangalore, June 08:  The police department as well as the department for women and child development appears to be least bothered about the welfare of a 17-year-old Dalit girl who was allegedly raped by her employer. Neither of the departments has bothered to produce the child before a Child Welfare Committee (CWC). Moreover, each department claims that it is the responsibility of the other. 

According to the Juvenile Justice Act 2006, which confers judicial powers on the CWC, all children who require protection and care should be produced before the CWC by the investigating authorities within 24 hours of lodging the complaint. Either the police department or the department of women and child development could have taken the victim before a CWC since both are the investigating authorities, but they failed to do so. 

The victim was allegedly raped by Janardhana Gowda, a labour contractor, on April 19. A complaint was lodged as per Sections 376 and 506 of the IPC and Section 3 (1) (12) of the Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, and Gowda has been arrested. The matter came to an end over here. 

Geo D’Silva, the former member of DK District CWC, said that a child rape victim requires not only protection, but also specialized post-trauma care otherwise a lot of irreversible damage could be done. Hilda Rayappan, a psychological counsellor and former chairperson of the CWC, said that proper arrangements must be made for the mental and psychological well-being of the child once he/she is brought before the CWC. 

The CWC of DK district currently stands dissolved; and the CWC of Udupi district is temporarily in charge of DK district. Amritha Kal, the chairperson of Udupi CWC, said that the Juvenile Justice Board ought to be alerted. But this board deals only with juvenile delinquents and not with victims of crime. 

Shakuntala A., the deputy director of the department of women and child development, said the police should refer the child to a CWC as soon as a complaint has been registered. Sub Inspector Vinayaka, who is in-charge of the Kadaba police station, said that the child’s family declined police protection, adding that the women and child development department should produce her before the CWC.