MANGALURU: Karnataka State Commission for Protection of Child Rights (KSCPCR) Chairperson K Naganna Gowda has taken strong objection to policemen thrashing and handcuffing a girl inside the Mangaluru East police station.
As a video of the incident went viral, he sought separate reports from the Mangaluru city police and excise department. On Saturday, media persons alerted Police Commissioner Anupam Agarwal about the viral video. He later released a statement that excise officials picked up the girl from Ganesh Medicals at Pumpwell around 6.50 am on September 1 after she exhibited unnatural and aggressive behaviour.
On suspicion that she might have consumed drugs, they were taking her to hospital for tests. But since she behaved aggressively in the vehicle, excise officials took her to the Mangaluru East police station seeking assistance.
‘Will train police to be sensitive’
The commissioner said the girl also behaved violently with the police after which she was overpowered by women cops before she was taken to the hospital. The result of the drug test came back negative. The commissioner said the girl was handed over to her parents who admitted her to hospital for treating aggressive behaviour. He also said they are investigating as to why she acted the way she did.
On Sunday, the news reached the KSCPCR chairperson, who got updates from the police commissioner and Mangaluru East police. He told TNIE that the police are still not clear about the girl’s age and if she is a minor, the commission will take a suo motu case against excise and police officials.
Irrespective of whether the girl is a minor or an adult, the way she was treated at the police station shows that the police lack training in handling such sensitive issues, he said, adding that he will organise a training course for them through the Legal Cell.
“They should have waited for some time for the girl to become normal and then counselled her. Coercive measures will lead to stress, and panic and might also take a more serious turn. That is not the right approach,” he said. There are two viral videos of the incident. In the first, four women cops are found pinning down the girl to the ground as the girl shouts at them and asks them to go away