Child braves the elements after employer turns him out of house

Rachna Khaira 

Tribune News Service

Jalandhar, January 20

The District Child Protection Department in support with Bachpan Bachao Andolan has rescued 8-year-old Sonu who was allegedly left out to die in cold by his employer on the Nakodar road. 

District Child Protection Officer (DCPO) Gurpreet Sodhi said Sonu had informed the police that his family hails from Bihar and his father Gangwa left him to work as a domestic help at a house in the city. However, six months ago, the employer thrashed him out of the house and then again picked up when found him crying in a vacant plot. 

However on Wednesday, a volunteer of the Bachpan Bachao Aandolan saw him sitting on the road with no clothes and footwear. When asked, the child informed him that his employer had beaten him again and turned him out of the house after taking off his clothes. 

The NGO after providing him clothes and footwear immediately informed the DCPO who reached the spot along with the police. However, ASI Ramesh Kumar from police station number 4 refused to lodge an FIR into the case on the basis of child's claim. He said he cannot lodge an FIR as the child may retract from his statement later.

The police seemed to have found ignorant about the law laid down under the Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children), 2000 under which they have made it mandatory for the police to lodge an FIR within 24 hours of receiving an abandoned/lost or an orphan child. 

Dinesh Kumar, a volunteer of the Bachpan Bachao Aandolan, also informed that the Child Welfare Committee too remained untraceable throughout the day and the DCPO had to travel to the home of one of the member of the committee to get orders for his shelter. 

Surprisingly, CWC has given 'temporary' orders to send Sonu to Guru Nanak Anaath Ashram known to have been keeping differently abled children and where more than 17 inmates have died under mysterious circumstances in the last one year.