E-Paper
Bhopal: 10-yr-old girl sent to observation home for burning minor girls, caretaker gets bail
A 10-year-old girl, who had allegedly singed the private parts of shelter home inmates to prevent them from bed-wetting at the caretaker's behest, sent to the girls' observation home. The caretaker has been given bail.
A 10-year-old girl, who had allegedly singed the private parts of shelter home inmates to prevent them from bed-wetting at the caretaker's behest, was apprehended and sent to the Vidisha girls' observation home on Wednesday. This was done under the provision of the Juvenile Justice (JJ) Act.
The caretaker has been given bail by a court. Sub-inspector CM Tiwari, the investigative officer in the case, said the girl was apprehended on February 9 under the JJ Act and produced before the Juvenile Justice Board.
The shelter home was in the news recently when it became known that the private parts of minor girls were singed by its caretaker to prevent them from bed-wetting.
When HT asked whether they had informed the girl's family, Tiwari said, "We inquired about the girl's whereabouts and found that she was an orphan as the shelter home doesn't have any information about her family.
Childline director Archana Sahay, one of the members of the committee, who revealed that the caretaker used a 10-year-old girl for singeing the younger inmates, said, "I came to know about it on Wednesday afternoon. I am feeling bad for that girl as she did it on the order of her 'didi' (caretaker) and she had accepted her crime in innocence. As the act was brutal and an FIR had been lodged, so according to the law, she was responsible for it."
As the girl is an orphan, she could get a bail through the child welfare committee (CWC). She would be produced before the CWC and CWC would send her to the shelter home but the case against her will continue.
On January 12, three girl inmates were tied down by the caretaker, who allegedly asked the girl to singe their private parts with a candle. The matter came to light on January 18, when the mother of a victim visited the shelter home and the victim informed her about the incident.
On January 19, a three-member committee raided the home and recorded the statements of the inmates. The inmates informed the committee members that the 10-year-old girl did it at the behest of the caretaker. The girl also admitted that she singed the private parts.
The caretaker, who was sent to jail under section 324 (voluntarily causing hurt) of the IPC, Juvenile Justice (JJ) Act section 23 (for gexposingh child to cruelty and causing mental or physical suffering) and Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act (POCSO), has got bail from the court.
