The primary task of officials is to protect the rights of children, says the chairman of the Children’s Commission

Shashidhar Kosambe, chairman of the Karnataka State Commission for Protection of Child Rights, inspected the Police Special Unit for Children and held a meeting with officers in Belagavi on Friday.

He directed officers to immediately place an information board in a prominent place in the unit showing the names, addresses and telephone numbers of the ex-officio officers and the child helpline number 1098. He asked them to regularly monitor and properly manage the records of the Registrar of Children’s Affairs and the Open House Programme.

Mr Kosambe charged officials to timely report cases related to child abduction cases, POCSO cases and child marriage cases to the authorities, including the commission.

Earlier, Mr Kosambe held a meeting of officials at the office of the Deputy Commissioner. He asked them to realize that their main duty was to protect the rights of children at all costs, without worrying about procedural formalities. The officials of all departments involved must work together in a coordinated manner to this end. There is no need to clarify once again that time should not be wasted in registering cases related to children or children in conflict with the law, and investigations should begin immediately. All serious cases such as kidnapping, POCSO, child marriage, harassment or violence, child labor and other matters should be dealt with on priority.

“It is mandatory for any person, parent or school staff who has information about child sexual abuse to report it to the police station. It is mandatory to register a POCSO case, and if there is any delay, action can be taken against those responsible. The POCSO cases should be filed within 120 days,” he said.

He asked Vijay Kumar H., Additional DC, to issue notices to officers regarding the delay in five such cases. He expressed concern over the delay in investigations into cases of missing children and children killed in road accidents.

“All schools and hostels in the district should provide a safe environment for children by providing protection against any form of violence, abuse and exploitation. A child rights protection committee should be formed in every school and hostel. Complaint boxes should be mandatorily installed. They should be monitored regularly and action should be taken. Personal information of abused children and complaints about them should be kept confidential. Awareness should be created against child trafficking, child labor and child marriage,” he said.

He directed officers to work proactively to eradicate maternal mortality, infant mortality and malnutrition in the district.