Ludhiana: National child protection panel inspects juvenile home

The child protection panel’s inspection comes five days after 10 residents of a juvenile observation home in Ludhiana were booked for sodomising and thrashing a fellow 17-year-old inmate

Five days after 10 residents of a juvenile observation home in Gill Canal, Shimlapuri, were booked for sodomising and thrashing a fellow 17-year-old inmate, a team of National Child Protection Commission (NCPCR), New Delhi, inspected the observation home in Ludhiana on Thursday.

Some residents of the juvenile home in Ludhiana complained to the child protection panel about exploitation by older inmates. (Representative image)

NCPCR registrar Anu Chaudhary and consultants Anshu Sharma and Karishma Buragohin were part of the team.

The team carried out a thorough inspection of the observation home and met the entire staff. They also interacted with the inmates and heard out the problems being faced by them.

During the investigation, the team found some of the deficiencies in the observation home, which were not as per the provisions of the JJ Act 2016.

Following this, they conducted a meeting with officials of the district administration and police commissionerate at circuit house and directed them to take measures to rectify the discrepancies. Sources said that besides raising hygiene issues and the problem of dangling power cables, the inmates, especially the younger lot, complained that the elder inmates who are undergoing corrective detention have formed gangs and physically exploited younger inmates. Deputy commissioner Varinder Kumar Sharma and police commissioner Gurpreet Singh Bhullar were also present at the meeting.

The team also directed the administration and the police that the case of violence within the observation home should be investigated on priority and in a timely manner.