Child rights panel rejects demand for probe into Asaram ashrams
The country’s apex body for protection of child rights has turned down a proposal for an inquiry into probable abuse of children at nine ashrams run by sexual assault-tainted self-styled godman Asaram.
The country’s apex body for protection of child rights has turned down a proposal for an inquiry into probable abuse of children at nine ashrams run by sexual assault-tainted self-styled godman Asaram.
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Chairperson of the National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR) Kushal Singh rejected a proposal of some members who advocated a countrywide inquiry by the commission, arguing it was “not NCPCR’s role” to carry out such a probe.
“The local police are conducting the investigation. Our role is to monitor the agencies constituted for specific purposes are performing their functions according to law,” Singh, a retired IAS officer, has said in an internal role.
Asaram is currently in judicial custody on charges of forcing a minor girl into oral sex at his Jodhpur ashram on August 15 this year. His son Narayan Sai, also wanted in alleged sexual abuse of girls, has gone into hiding.
Contrary to Singh’s arguments, however, some commission members were of the opinion that the Commission for Protection of Child Rights Act empowers it to “inquire into violation of child rights and recommend initiation of proceedings in such cases”.
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Nina Nayak, a member, had suggested the report of the proposed inquiry can be forwarded to the investigating agency and later submitted in the court of law. She has said the failure to inquire into other ashrams would mean “overlooking” the role and responsibilities under the Act and would “jeopardise” future of not only the minor girl but many others who might have fallen victim to abuse at these ashrams.
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Nina Nayak, a member, had suggested the report of the proposed inquiry can be forwarded to the investigating agency and later submitted in the court of law. She has said the failure to inquire into other ashrams would mean “overlooking” the role and responsibilities under the Act and would “jeopardise” future of not only the minor girl but many others who might have fallen victim to abuse at these ashrams.
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But Singh had strongly countered the claim and said Nayak’s comment was “uncalled” for and “unwarranted” and reiterated that constituting an inquiry committee was not needed.
He claimed the child welfare committee of Shahjahanpur, the victim’s native place, had informed him that an inquiry committee was being constituted.
“The member has exceeded her authority in conveying a decision not taken by the commission,” Singh said.
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Nayak hit back saying the matter cannot be left to Rajasthan State Child Rights Commission alone, as it has jurisdiction over only one state while Asaram had ashrams in four other states.
“Probable abuse, exploitation in care, deception and fraud at other ashrams have huge ramifications. Death of four children in two ashrams is already under investigation,” Nayak had said.
“NCPRC surely has the responsibility to intervene while leveraging the support of the best experts across the country,” she said. But despite her strong plea, the commission went along with the chairperson and decided not to conduct an inquiry.
In the past, NPCPR has carried out independent inquiries into allegations of child abuse even when the police were investigation a case.
Chetan Chauhan is the National Affairs Editor looking into all aspects of news and features from across India. A Chevening scholar with over three decades of experience in reporting and news management, Chetan has extensively covered all important aspects of the social sector, political economy, environment and climate change nationally and internationally. He did a journalism course at the Reuters Institute of Journalism in Oxford and Digital Media training at Nanyang Technological University in Singapore. He started as a reporter with The Statesman in 1996 and joined the Hindustan Times in 2000 in the metro bureau covering environment, crime and Delhi politics. He covered hot local news, from the Jessica Lal murder case to the rebellion of Delhi Congress MLAs against then Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit, to the replacement of toxic vehicle fuel with cleaner compressed natural gas (CNG) in the national capital. Some of his stories on air pollution became part of the Supreme Court’s landmark MC Mehta versus Government of India case in the National Capital Region (NCR), forcing the government to take corrective measures. As part of the national political bureau since 2004, he covered important central sectors such as environment, education, social justice, labour, rural development, water resources, renewable energy, agriculture, broadcasting and the Planning Commission for more than a decade producing several exclusive and investigative breaking stories. His specialisation is the environment, having covered at least a dozen United Nations global conferences on climate change, biodiversity and wildlife including climate summits in Paris, Copenhagen and Bali. He also covered India’s two five-year plans ---11th and 12th and reported on drafting and execution of right based laws such as Right to Education, Right to Information and rural job guarantee law, MG-NREGA, now being introduced in new format as VG-RAM-G Act. He has in-depth knowledge of social sector issues. He was one of the first to report on tigers vanishing from Sariska and Panna wildlife reserves in 2004 and 2008, respectively, leading to the setting up of the National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA) and the introduction of stringent penal provisions for poaching. He has written extensively on the rising human-animal conflict in India and the degradation of India’s biodiversity hotspots because of mining and other activities. Since 2004, Chetan has covered Parliament comprehensively and participated in training on the nuanced coverage of Parliament proceedings. He has travelled extensively across India to cover national and provincial elections since 1998, especially in the Hindi heartland states, considered India’s road to power. He writes a regular column for Hindustan Times, Ecostani, on important national politics, economy, Himalayan ecology and environmental issues. His other responsibilities include providing inputs for edits and edit page articles for the publication, apart from managing news flow from across India.
