TIRUCHY: Seeking help for mental trauma allegedly caused by her mother, a 12-year-old schoolgirl, in Class VI in a private school here, walked into the office of ChildLine, an organisation for children in distress. She was sent to the Government Observation Home (GOH) on Wednesday.
ChildLine officials said as the girl wanted to write her last examination on Wednesday, they escorted her to the centre and informed the school officials.
Inquiries revealed that the girl was upset as her mother was living with her paramour and wanted the child to call him appa (father).
Officials said the girl, with a school bag, visited the ChildLine office on Tuesday evening and narrated the suffering caused by her mother, who is estranged from her husband and lives in a separate house in Thennur.
“Inquiries with the child revealed that her school has a ChildLine awareness club and she knew the ChildLine office, as it is located near the institution. Further, the couple Shankar Babu (45), a tailor, and Anandhi (38), a helper in a pharmacy in Thillainagar, became estranged four years back and Shankar Babu is living separately,” said A Albert Manoharan, coordinator, ChildLine.
He added that the girl wanted to stay with her biological father and was firm that she would never return home. The girl told the officials that she wanted to write her last exam on Wednesday.
“According to her wish, she wrote her exam with an escort and we informed the school officials about the incident, after which they communicated it to her home,” Albert said.
Upon learning about the incident, the girl’s mother and her relatives reached the ChildLine office and requested the staff to hand her over to them.
However, the officials explained the process and asked them to return on Thursday, as there would be a Child Welfare Committee (CWC) sitting on the day.
Later, the officials handed over the girl to the CWC, which sent her to the GOH.