Thiruvananthapuram: The Kerala High Court has directed Crime branch to submit a report in sealed cover on their investigation so far in the incident where about 576 children were brought in from other states. The court observed that the children "were brought in from other states like chickens. They are children with parents and why should they be put up in orphanages here".
The court heard a petition filed by an organisation called Thampu. It also held that the Kerala orphanages association cannot be impleaded at this stage. Complaining that police questioning was causing mental agony to their inmates, a Muslim orphanage facing charges of child trafficking had moved Kerala High Court to implead them in a PIL, seeking a CBI probe into a case relating to bringing of over 580 children from eastern states.
In its petition, Mukkam orphanage Secretary Dr Gafoor contended that the questioning by police caused much mental agony and stress to the children.
Earlier, the court had directed the government to inform it by June 30 its stand on the PIL, seeking a CBI probe into the case filed by an NGO 'All Kerala Anti Corruption and Human Rights Protection council' of Palakkad. The petitioner contended that the present investigation is 'ineffective' and the truth could be brought out only if an independent outside agency conducts the probe. The case has been posted to June 30 for government's reply.
Over 580 children from Bihar, Jharkhand and West Bengal, meant to be brought to two orphanages in the state, were detained by police at a railway station in Palakkad early this month after it was found many of them did not have any proper documents.
The issue had snowballed into a major row in the state with IUML, the key partner in UDF,taking objection to treating the incident as a case of child trafficking. Taking serious note of the incident, Kerala State Child Rights Protection Commission had directed the state government to take necessary steps to send the children back home.
The children are now kept at state-run juvenile homes of the Child Welfare Society in Palakkad, Malappuram and Thrissur.
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