Expressing concern over rising child abuse cases, Additional District and Sessions Judge Yamanappa Bammanagi has said that “it is our responsibility to protect the rights of children and we must all work together to make sure that child abuse cases soon become historical references.”
He was addressing a gathering after inaugurating Mission Suraksha Abhiyan, a workshop to create awareness about child rights and child protection, jointly organised by the Karnataka State Directorate of Child Protection, the District Legal Services Authority, the district administration, the Zilla Panchayat, the Police Department, the Women and Child Welfare Department, the District Child Protection Cell and Hyderabad Karnataka Education Society here on Tuesday.
Mr. Bammanagi said that in most of the cases, the minor survivor in a sexual assault case turns hostile with possibilities of out of court settlements. In such circumstances, under the Prevention of Children from Sexual Offences (PoCSO) cases, the onus is on the accused to establish innocence. It is the duty of the police officer concerned, the parents and the victims to produce all evidence related to the case and see that the culprit does not walk away scot-free.
Member secretary of the District Legal Services Authority Mohammad Anwar Hussain Moghalani said that the girl students studying in classes 7 to 10 are lured in the pretext of love and then they are made victims.
Mr. Moghalani directed the officials of the Women and Child Welfare Department to constitute a committee and conduct awareness programmes in education institutions across the district and educate students on child rights. Parents and teachers should keep a tab on their children on a regular basis, he added.
Police Commissioner R. Chetan said that it is the responsibility of the Police Department to effectively implement PoCSO Act. The police officers should be aware of how to handle properly PoCSO cases, he said.
Deputy Commissioner Fauzia Tarannum and Superintendent of Police Isha Pant also spoke on the occasion.
