Officials failed to inform DCPO or CWC about an abandoned child in Kelapaarai village

According to sources, a newborn baby girl was found near a temple on the wee hours of Tuesday. The residents of Kelapaarai village found the baby and alerted the Health Department officials.
Image for representational purpose only
Image for representational purpose only

DHARMAPURI: A newborn baby girl was found abandoned near a temple in Kelapaarai village near Harur on Tuesday. Though the baby was reportedly abandoned on Monday midnight, officials from the departments of police, revenue and health reportedly failed to inform it to the District Child Protection Officer (DCPO) and Child Welfare Committee (CWC) till Tuesday evening.

According to sources, a newborn baby girl was found near a temple on the wee hours of Tuesday. The residents of Kelapaarai village found the baby and alerted the Health Department officials. Based on the information, the baby was admitted to the Government Harur Hospital.

It may be noted that as per the Juvenile Justice Act 2015, section 31, any officer from police, special juvenile unit, doctor, nurse or public servant should produce the child before Child Welfare Committee within 24 hours, excluding the necessary time of journey.

A child right activist Vincent Sundararaj explained that if any of the officials fail to inform DCPO or CWC, it will be considered as an offence for non-reporting under section 33.

However, officials from the departments have not handed over the infant to DCPO or CWC chairperson until Wednesday evening.

When contacted, DCPO Siva Gandhi said that she was unaware of the incident till Tuesday evening. "After I came to know about the baby, I enquired about the issue. Once the infant is handed over to us, we will look into the issue," she clarified.

CWC chairperson Saravanan also said that he was not informed about the issue.

When TNIE spoke to the inspector, Kannan, from the Harur Police Station, he claimed that the officials from the Revenue Department were secretly inquiring about the incident.

Attempts to contact Ellapudayampatti Village Administrative Officer, Ramesh Kumar, and Harur Sub-Collector M Prathap went in vain. Sources from the hospital said that the health condition of the baby was stable. In a later development, the mother of the infant was found, officials added. Inquiry on.

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