Palamu police are gearing up for better and effective handling of child protection cases. On Sunday a meeting to sensitise the police officials was convened under the chairmanship of the DSP probationer Ajay Kumar in the Daltonganj police station. Town circle inspector RN Sinha also addressed the officials and asked them to be more understandable to the victims. Cases of missing kids are not high here but they still take place so now the thrust is more on it.
Any case of a child missing is to be registered in the station diary within 24 hours of the episode, said the inspector of the Town Circle RN Sinha, he adds that if the child is not traced, recovered, or resurfaces himself in 15 days then the case is to be converted into a Human Trafficking case.
No police official is to interrogate a child victim at all. One should only conduct discussions and that too in the civil dress to not frighten the child.
However, in the concept of ‘Bal Mitra Thana’ there is no mention of parents’ role in it. No child under 18 years of age is bold and free to come to jail on his own especially if its a girl.
The administration must look into it said one civil activist Akhtar Zaman who asked as to how a girl who is under 18 years will go to jail to lodge the complaint. There must be a provision of victim’s parents to be with him/her. Further who will be the officer in ‘Bal Mitra Thana’IJ The book reads a police official who has the aptitude and training in dealing with children. Ajay Kumar said ASI and S-I are the officials besides the inspector. And they can be tipped to become Bal Kalyan officer. The focus should not be ‘how an offence was committed but why the offence is committed’. “So it is Why now instead of How,” said Sinha.