THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The Social Justice Department (SJD) will consider strengthening of the safety of the Nirbhaya Home at Poojappura against the backdrop of the incident in which two inmates were found missing on Monday.
Nirbhaya project officer Shaniba A told ‘Express’ that a discussion with Kerala Mahila Samakhya Society (KMSS) state project director P E Usha will be held soon to look into the possible measures to make the security at the Home more effective. Recently, when five girls from the Home tried to escape, the department had done maintenance of the building to leave no scope for any further attempts. “We had even cut down two coconut trees on the premises to ensure safety in the maximum possible way,” said Shaniba.
At present, the girls from the Home go to school in the vehicles arranged by the schools, while some of them are taken to school by the security staff of the schools. “A change in this will also be discussed,” said Shaniba.
The Nirbhaya Home, a facility under the SJD for rehabilitating women and girls who were subjected to sexual harassment, is run by KMSS. There are ten Nirbhaya Homes under the SJD in the state of which seven in six districts are run by KMSS and the rest by NGOs. Shaniba added that the running of the Home at Poojappura directly by the SJD could also be considered.
Probe Makes No Headway
The police have made no headway in the investigation into Monday’s incident. According to them, there was no possibility of kidnapping, but the decision to escape was taken by the girls themselves.
The police also ruled out the chance that the accused in the cases, in which the girls were sexually harassed, had any role in the incident. “The accused were found at their houses in Kollam,” said sub-inspector, Museum, R Sivakumar, who is assisting the investigation led by Circle Inspector Ajithkumar G L.
The girls aged 16 and 17 were students of Cotton Hill Govt Higher Secondary School, from where they were found missing on Monday morning.