Kerala - Thiruvananthapuram   

Assault on children: two caretakers arrested

Staff Reporter

Children had been subjected to severe beating

Thiruvananthapuram: The city police have arrested two caretakers of the Government-run Juvenile Observation Home here on the charge of assaulting the children housed there.

The police were acting on the direction of Chief Judicial Magistrate (CJM) S. Soman who inspected the observation home and spoke to the victims of the assault. The arrested were identified as Sajish, 26, of Kunnukuzhy and Sofa Raj, 28, of Neyyattinkara.

Service terminated

The police said efforts were on to arrest three other caretakers involved in the case. They were identified as Somasekharan, Salim and Sunil. The arrested were produced before the court on the charge of assault, use of weapon and violation of section 23 of the Juvenile Justice Act. They were remanded to 14 days in judicial custody.

The State Government has terminated the services of the arrested. It has also placed under suspension pending inquiry, Tara Bhai, the Superintendent of the observation home.

The case came to light when the Superintendent approached the CJM and requested that certain children under the care of the home be shifted to the Juvenile Home, Poojappura. The alleged torture was revealed when the CJM paid a surprise visit to the observation home and interviewed the inmates.

The CJM found that the children had been subjected to severe beating. Their bodies bore torture marks. After recording their statements, the CJM ordered the arrest of two caretakers who were present at the home. He directed the police to register a case against three other staff members.

A police official said that the children were beaten on the suspicion that they had abetted the escape of an inmate a few days ago.

The assaulters had used sticks to inflict injuries on the children. The CJM ordered that the victims be subjected to a detailed medical examination.

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