The Hindu : Karnataka / Bangalore News : Notices to police for putting juveniles in jail

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Tuesday, Dec 09, 2008
ePaper | Mobile/PDA Version

Karnataka

Karnataka - Bangalore

Notices to police for putting juveniles in jail

Staff Reporter

BANGALORE: The discovery of 20 juveniles in the Bangalore Central Prison in April has taken a new turn with the Karnataka State Human Rights Commission (SHRC) starting the process of identifying the police inspectors responsible for putting them in prison.

Following a complaint by a non-government organisation, a team of SHRC went to the Bangalore Central Prison on April 3 and found 20 boys aged less than 18 incarcerated there. The SHRC had found that the investigation officers had failed to document them properly and conduct age verification tests.

SHRC Chairman S.R. Nayak directed the Home Department to take action against the officials responsible for sending the juveniles to prison in contravention of the Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection) Act 2000.

After looking into the issue, the Home Secretary wrote to the SHRC that steps will be taken to ensure that no juvenile was incarcerated.

Not agreeing with the Home Secretary’s report, Mr. Nayak in November directed Inspector General of Police (SHRC) Bipin Gopalkrishna to find the inspectors of the 20 police stations who had investigated the cases involving the juveniles.

The SHRC has issued notices to the inspectors of the 20 police stations and has directed them to submit the names of the investigating officers. On December 3, the SHRC team visited the Central Prison on the complaint that there were 19 juveniles in the block meant for inmates aged between 18 and 21. The SHRC is awaiting a report by the Prison’s Department.

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

Karnataka