KRISHNAGIRI: Three days after their return to Krishnagiri, a counsellor from District Child Protection Unit on Monday held inquiries with two children who were detained along with their parents by Chittoor police last week.
Ten people, including two children aged 5 and 7, from the Kuravan community were detained by Chittoor police in Andhra Pradesh from June 7 to 12 allegedly in connection with a theft case. On Saturday, eight people were released, of which six adults were admitted to hospital. Upon being informed by TNIE, District Child Protection Officer M Sivagandhi deputed counsellor S Sivanandam and outreach worker Vasantha Kumar to hold inquiries with the children. They found the children were not under mental stress nor subject to violence by the AP police.
Joint Action Committee Against Custodial Torture (JAACT) Krishnagiri District Coordinator M Sampath Kumar told TNIE, “ On Saturday evening, when I tried to speak with the 7-year-old boy, he was frightened and was trembling. After his relatives explained to him that I am not a police officer, he narrated the ordeal his parents and relatives went through.”
“The violence on the children has gone unnoticed. A child’s mother alleged that AP police slapped her son during their inquiry,” he said, adding that Krishnagiri district Superintendent of Police Saroj Kumar Thakur should take departmental action against Uthangarai DSP Parthiban, who allegedly supported Chittoor police. C Prakash, a CPI (M) functionary, said “On Sunday, Krishnagiri police and AP police tried to record statements from the victims, attenders or supporters were not allowed to meet the victims. Although we have talked about this with Government Krishnagiri Medical College Hospital Dean Poovathi, we were not allowed.”
S Ajith Kumar (26) from Dharmapuri, a relative of one of the victims, said he has turned away after waiting at the hospital for over six hours on Monday. Dean M Poovathi told TNIE, “The people are fine and no recent external injury has been found on them. The specimen has been collected from two women following allegations of sexual assault by Chittoor police. Further information can be known once we get the results.”
“The government has instructed us not to allow so many people to meet the children and the victims. The children were not mental stress and hence we didn’t inform the District Child Protection Unit,” she added. On Monday, Andhra police recorded statements of victims.