CWC wants to follow procedure, but puts kids’ schooling at stake

Three weeks after 19 children aged between six months and eight years were “rescued” from an orphanage, they are still at the mercy of the Child Welfare Committee.

After the rescue, the children have been forced to stay in the government home, amidst children with disturbed backgrounds. They have been forced to miss regular school.

Rita Thomas, executive secretary, Sneha Orphanage, said: “Some sponsors admitted a few children to ICSE schools. They are enquiring about their wards’ whereabouts now. I met the children once after the raid and all of them expressed their concern over missing school. I have requested the authorities to send the children, at least till this term, on a temporary basis, but my pleas have fallen on deaf ears.”

Differences of opinion among committee members has left the children to suffer. The first commission of CWC, which has the government boys’ home under its jurisdiction, has released six out of the eight boys to their parents. The rest have no parents, so have been retained in the government home.

CWC member PM Basawaraj said: “In the best interest of the children who were attending school, we decided to send the children to their parents. We have directed the parents to avail scholarships under Section 43 of the Juvenile Justice Act, and not send the children to orphanages when parents are alive, which is a violation of the child’s rights.”

However, the second commission, headed by Meena Jain, has refused to release the children from Shishu Mandira and the government girls’ home even when the parents approached. The raid was carried out on October 22 after the neighbours of Sneha Orphanage in Kalkere, Ramamurthynagar, complained that one of the inmates had died and the case went unreported.

Also, allegations of illegal activities in the orphanage arose.

A team of two NGOs, along with members of Child Welfare Committee and Karnataka State Commission for Protection of Child Rights, raided the orphanage.

One of the NGO members said: “The place was unhygienic and the authorities had no records on the number of children admitted and also the child’s death. However, they managed to get some details about the child’s death. In the interest of the children, we did refer the CWC to send the children back to the orphanage as their schooling gets affected.”