Kerala - Thiruvananthapuram   

14 children rescued from `illegal' orphanage

Staff Reporter

Case charged against authorities of `spiritual home' at Poovar

TOWARDS A BETTER FUTURE: Children who were rescued from the orphanage at Poovar in the city on Wednesday.

Thiruvananthapuram: The Rural police on Wednesday took custody of 14 children from an orphanage run by a private individual at Thirupuram in Poovar on Wednesday.

Thomas Enos (35), manager of the `Spirituality Centre Boy Home and Home For the Aged,' was arrested by the police on the charge of child abuse under the relevant sections of the Juvenile Justice Act. He was produced before the Judicial First Class Magistrate court in Neyyatinkara and remanded to 14 days in judicial custody.

The children, all between the age of 4 and 10, were produced before Chief Judicial Magistrate S. Soman, who is also chairman of the Child Welfare Committee constituted under the Juvenile Justice Act.

The CJM recorded the statements of the children and sent them to another orphanage with necessary infrastructure to give the juveniles nourishment and medical attention.

Poovar Circle Inspector P. Gopakumar said the children bore marks of having suffered burns, cane blows and bites. He said the children, who hail from poor and broken families in the coastal area, were malnourished and housed in poor conditions.

The case came to light when few local people assaulted Thomas Enos on Tuesday, accusing him of treating the children cruelly. The police found that there was truth in the allegations after they visited the "boy home" and spoke to the children, the CI said. The police are investigating whether the children were subjected to sexual abuse at the home. The director of the Social Welfare Department also visited the home.

According to the police, Thomas Enos did not have Government sanction to run an orphanage. However, he had registered a charitable society under the name of the centre at the local sub-registar office. The police said the children were often sent to some Government-aided schools in the district to "show numbers" in order to avoid fall in the number of class divisions allotted by the Education Department.

Printer friendly page  
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

Stories in this Section

Call to check global trade in cycads
Outreach programme for development needs
NIE programme launched in Mannam school
14 children rescued from `illegal' orphanage
Mani Shankar Aiyar on four-day visit of State
`Ensure rights of Backward Classes'
Pre-paid auto service from Medical College
Plan to relocate families from coastal areas
`Knowledge centre' opened
Clarification on Indian air fare
Around the City
In Thiruvananthapuram Today

Copyright © 2006, The Hindu. Republication or redissemination of the contents of this screen are expressly prohibited without the written consent of The Hindu