The authorities at the Child Remand Home in Dumardaga have been exhorted to do away with the unpleasant aura of the correctional facility to transform it into an institution of change for its minor inmates so that they shed any inclination of escaping from the establishment.
Justice DN Patel of Jharkhand High Court, who happens to be the Executive Chairman of Jharkhand State legal Services Authority (JHAlSA), alongwith MS Bhatia, Secretary of Women, Child Development and Social Security Department, and Navneet Kumar, Principal Judicial Commissioner, Ranchi, paid a visit to the remand home near Booty More on Saturday to suggest changes in this direction
The unfriendly environment of the state-run observation home is reflected in the several cases of children escaping from the facility reported in the past. The latest breakout on Monday this week saw seven inmates escaping the premises using a makeshift rope fashioned out of bed sheets. Another group of boys fled back in September 2015 too.
“Children should be treated here like they are in their homes,” said Justice Patel. He also called for proper monitoring of the premises to keep an eye on the inmates.
Justice Patel ordered that recreational activities should be arranged for the children here so that they can be involved in some creative pursuits. He ordered Women and Child Development Secretary Bhatia to look into the arrangements.
Providing computers for the use of children here also featured among the list of suggestions made by the team. “These computers will be used to impart education to the children placed under observation here using digital mediums and internet,” JHAlSA Secretary AK Rai said.
Albeit briefly, the idea of conducting counselling sessions for the children at remand home to explain the importance of their time here to keep them from escaping was also discussed during this visit.
Stationing unarmed personnel for keeping watch over the correctional facility was also proposed to add to the security measures practised at the remand home. Ranchi SSP Kuldeep Dwivedi had already sanctioned installation of CCTV cameras in the premises to keep watch over the facility in light of the recent breakout.
The remand home authorities were also held responsible for the recurring getaway incidents over the course of years. Guardians are liable if children flee from their homes, said Justice Patel, and if children are escaping from remand home then the authorities are responsible. He ordered Bhatia to look into the pattern leading to these escapes and rectify the problem.