PHOTOGRAPH BY SANDIPAN CHATTERJEE<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
According to the Article 9 of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, \u201cChildren must not be separated from their parents unless it is in the best interests of the child (for exa\u00admple, in cases of abuse or neglect). A child must be given the chance to express their views when decisions about parental res\u00adponsibilities are being made. Every child has the right to stay in contact with both parents, unless this might harm them.\u201d Ind\u00adia ratified the Convention in 1992.<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
Now to get to the 31 children from Assam, a letter dated June 16, 2015 (ASCPCR 37\/2015\/1), from Runumi Gogoi, chairperson of the ASCPCR, to the ADGP, CID, Assam Police, says: \u201cThe Childline India Foundation, Central Zone, with the help of informer and anti-human trafficking unit, Crime Branch, GP, and RPF rescued children on June 11, 2015, at about 7.40 pm at New Delhi Railway Station.\u201d It refers to the same 31 children.<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
The Childline India Foundation (CIF) is the nodal agency of the Union ministry of women and child development, acting as the parent organisation for setting up, managing and monitoring the Childline 1098 service across the country. It is a free, 24-hour emergency phone outreach service for children in need of care and protection. It has set up emergency phonelines\u00a0 for the purpose.<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
On June 11, Childline Delhi got a call from an informer about the trafficking of these girls on the Poorvottar Sampark Kranti Exp\u00adress. The girls were rescued at Paharganj station in New Delhi. The same day, Shaiju, a coordinator of Childline, wrote to Sushma Vij, chairperson of the Child Welfare Committee in Mayur Vihar, Delhi, informing her that the children, who were accompanied by \u201ca lady called Sandhya from Kokrajhar and Bongaigaon in Assam\u201d, were rescued and taken to the police station for cross-checking their documents. But at this juncture, strangely, an order of the CWC, Surendranagar, intervened and within a day, the girls were sent onward to their destinations from the police station its\u00adelf\u201420 to Halvad, Gujarat, and 11 to Patiala. Shaiju wrote, \u201cThere is a need to collect more information about these children from the police department of Delhi and concerned CWCs of the aforementioned districts with proper\/relevant support documents. I would like to request you to kindly investigate the matter for the best interests of the children.\u201d<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
No action was taken on this request from the CWC, Mayur Vihar, Delhi. Responding to the concerns, the ASCPCR wrote to the ADGP, Assam, on June 16: \u201cThe mentioned children were rescued on June 11, 2015, but the written evidence showed that Child Welf\u00adare Committee (CWC) (Surendrana\u00adgar) issued the order to Secretary, Children Home, Halvad, under section 33 (4) of Juv\u00adenile Justice Act 2000 on June 3, 2015. Without producing the children before the mentioned CWC, how can they issue order with regard to proper custody of the children in the children\u2019s home situated at Halvad…. How can children of Assam who are with their parents\/guardians have previous rec\u00adord, case history, individual care plan in a Child Welfare Committee of Gujarat state?\u201d\u00a0
Outlook<\/em>\u00a0has a copy of the letter from the CWC, Surendranagar, that blatantly violates this clause of the Juvenile Justice Act.<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
The letter from the ASCPCR also dir\u00adected the Assam police \u201cto initiate a proper enquiry into the matter and take all necessary steps to bring back all 31 children to Assam….. The government of Assam is implementing the Right to Education and other developmental work as well as a protection scheme for children in the state, then why should children go away from their families in the name of better facilities. This is against the best interests of children and against the provision of JJ Act 200. It can in fact be termed as trafficking.\u201d<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
A day later, on June 17, 2015, the\u00a0
Gujarat Samachar<\/em>\u00a0newspaper, Ahmedabad edition, published the following: \u201cSaraswati Shishu Mandir in Halvad, which is affliated to Vidya Bharati Trust, organised a meeting in Delhi, during which it adopted 20 girls who have been orph\u00adaned during the recent floods in Assam. This hum\u00adanitarian move has contributed to enhancing Guj\u00adarat\u2019s image and made the state proud. The girls who have been adopted are aged 5-8 years, and a majority of them are totally without any support. The children were received at Delhi railway station by trustees of the Saraswati Shishu Mandir, Mr Ramnikbhai Rabdiya and Ms Varshaben Rathod, as well as two police officers.\u201d<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
The next day, on June 18, Kumud Kalita, IAS, member-secretary, State Child Protection Society, Assam, wrote to the CWCs in Kokrajhar and Bassaigaon, saying, \u201cYou are aware of the trafficking of the 31 girls from the districts like Kokrajhar, Chirang, Dhubri, Goalpara, Bongaigaon. Salaam Balak Trust Childline managed to rescue girls with the help of police, crime branch, at New Delhi Railway Station. Though the girls were rescued, some political power managed to take them to the destined places at Gujarat and Punjab. The most shocking part of this incident is that Surendranagar Child Welfare Committee has passed an order to keep 20 numbers of girls in children\u2019s home in RSSP Halvad, Gujarat, despite knowing that Child Welfare Committee of the source district is not informed about the movement of children of their district. Please do at the earliest to bring back our children to Assam for their best interest.\u201d<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n