Kerala minister warns stringent action against those assault children

PTI, Dec 5, 2024, 10:10 AM IST

Thiruvananthapuram: The Kerala government would not tolerate any kind of atrocities against children and stringent action would be initiated against the culprits, Health Minister Veena George said on Wednesday.

The minister, also in charge of women and child development department, said the government is viewing the recent incident of the abuse of a toddler at the Kerala State Child Welfare Committee (CWC) here seriously and the principal secretary (women and child development) is carrying out a detailed probe into the incident.

She visited the CWC and took a stock of the activities there a day after three women caretakers were arrested for allegedly “physically abusing private parts” of a two-and-a-half-year-old girl for wetting the bed at night.

All the three women were contractual employees of the CWC and they were booked under relevant provisions of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act and the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), police said.

George said performance and service aptitude of all the caretakers of the CWC would be evaluated and they would be retained in the service after putting them through psycho-social analysis.

Police verification would also be done before appointing caretakers in the institution, she said. Stating that it is not just another job, she said preference would be given to those who can take care of children with motherly affection.

All the new appointments would be in accordance with these conditions, she said. “Atrocities against children are viewed seriously. Assault (against children) would not be tolerated under any circumstances. Stringent action will be taken against the culprits,” an official statement said quoting the minister.

CWC general secretary G L Arun Gopi was also with the minister during the visit, it said. According to police, the three accused women caretakers had recently inflicted injuries on the child’s private areas as the girl used to wet the bed at night, which affected their sleep.

Action was taken against the women on Tuesday following a complaint by the CWC, they said.