No Child Welfare Police Officer, Spl Juvenile Unit in majority of PSs
Children easily getting banned intoxicants, chemicals
Mohinder Verma
JAMMU, Nov 22: Astonishing it may sound but it is a fact that recommendations of National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR) don’t carry any importance for the Home and Health Departments of Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir, which otherwise have a crucial role to play as far as care and protection of children is concerned.
Official sources told EXCELSIOR that following detailed review of the status of child rights in the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir, the National Commission for Protection of Child Rights made numerous recommendations to the Government in the month of March 2020 for strict action in a time bound manner and most important among them pertain to the Home and Health Departments.
As far as Home Department is concerned, it was suggested that Child Welfare Police Officer should be deputed in each Police Station of the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir and Special Juvenile Police Unit created in each Police Station. Moreover, their contact details should be provided to those implementing the Integrated Child Protection Scheme (ICPS) for better coordination.
However, majority of the Police Stations in the Union Territory don’t have Child Welfare Police Officer and Special Juvenile Police Unit, sources disclosed, adding “wherever such officers have been deputed they don’t have undergone proper training on different provisions of Juvenile Justice Act, 2015, which otherwise is imperative for effective implementation of the law”.
Section 107 of the Juvenile Justice Act read: “In every Police Station, at least one officer, not below the rank of Assistant Sub-Inspector with aptitude, appropriate training and orientation may be designated as the Child Welfare Police Officer to exclusively deal with children either as victims perpetrators in co-ordination with the police, voluntary and non-governmental organizations”.
Disclosing that Child Welfare Police Officers and Special Juvenile Police Units are required to be trained especially on Sections 75, 76, 77, 78, 79 and 83(1) and (2) of the Act, sources informed that these sections are aimed at ensuring punishment for cruelty to child; checking employment of child for begging; imposing penalty for giving intoxicating liquor or narcotic drug or psychotropic substance to a child; checking use of a child for vending, peddling, carrying, supplying or smuggling any intoxicant; checking exploitation of child by employee and punitive measures for adoption without following prescribed procedure.
“Most shocking aspect is that majority of the SHOs don’t have full knowledge about the Juvenile Justice Act for want of sensitization programme although National Commission had laid sufficient thrust on this aspect”, sources disclosed, adding “majority of the Investigating Officers face embarrassment in the courts whenever the cases pertaining to violation of child rights come up hearing as studying Juvenile Justice Act remains least priority for them”.
As far as Health Department is concerned, the National Commission had recommended that provisions of medical facilities available for children suffering from drug/substance use should be reviewed after regular intervals and beds should be arranged in the Government and private hospitals for treatment of such children.
“A detailed mechanism has yet not been worked out by the Government of J&K UT in this regard and such children are treated as normal patients in the Government hospitals”, sources informed, adding “notwithstanding the claims of the Government about holding interactive meetings with the Chemist Associations over the issue of selling any Schedule H drug without prescription, banned intoxicants are easily reaching the hands of the children which clearly points towards the situation to be emerged in near future”.
The Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare vide Letter No.X11029/2010-DDAP dated July 17, 2012 had imposed prohibition on selling of whitener and bottled thinners of any chemical composition and the National Commission for Protection of Child Rights had asked the J&K Government to issue circular instructions in this regard.
We have not seen any such circular having been issued by the department”, sources disclosed, adding “the whitener and bottled thinners have become latest addition in the list of items being circulated among the children for making them drug addicts as such their easily availability has to be checked”.
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