There was chaos at the Delhi Government-run juvenile correction centre at Majnu Ka Tila on Thursday. Unhappy with its administration, some two dozen boys created a ruckus for around 12 hours.
They pelted stones at the neighbours, caretakers and moving cars, climbing on to the roof of the building and setting fire to blankets. The correction home houses an accused in the December 16 gang-rape case.
The boys wanted a better place to live and good food. Police said the drama had begun on Wednesday around 9.30 pm. The 23 boys reportedly broke windows, smashed wooden furniture inside the home and windowpanes of adjacent houses in New Aruna Nagar Colony.
“A PCR call was made around 4 am on Thursday. Five fire tenders were rushed in to douse the fire,” a senior Fire Service official said, adding that they even smashed the window of the fire engine. However, no casualties were reported.
The children climbed the walls and threw stones and when the police tried to pacify them, they pulled up an lPG cylinder till the main gate, threatening to blow up the place. “They shouted slogans against the warden, saying the food was of very poor quality and the home lacked basic amenities. They also demanded reduction of their probation period,” the officer said.
Police have reached the spot but have not been allowed to enter the juvenile home, according to rules. late on Wednesday, around 10 juveniles climbed to the roof. “They were shouting and abusing us. They smashed all our windows,” said Samten, a local, adding that they had also made a PCR call but the police did not do anything.
Principal Magistrate of Juvenile Justice Board Geetanjali Goel also went to speak to the juveniles and assured them that their demands would be looked into. Around 25 policemen went to the correction home, in shifts, to control the situation and the high drama came to an end around 8.30 am on Thursday, after they was able to convince the boys to withdraw.
The inmates will now be split into groups and sent to different homes. One has already been shifted to Mukherjee Nagar correctional facility.