New Delhi (The Hawk): Regarding the alleged mistreatment of 12 orphaned youngsters sent from Bihar to a madrasa in Chennai, the Tamil Nadu and Bihar governments have received notifications from the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC).
The human rights organisation issued a statement saying, "The NHRC has taken suo motu cognizance of a media report that two persons have been arrested in Chennai, Tamil Nadu for sheltering and torturing orphaned youths from Bihar and rescued 12 children from a Madrasa located at Ponniammanmedu.
The Chief Secretaries of the governments of Tamil Nadu and Bihar, as well as the Commissioner of Police in Chennai, Tamil Nadu, have received notifications from the commission requesting full reports on the situation within four weeks.
The commission has noted that even though it appears that the police acted quickly and the accused have been detained, the situation is "grave and serious in nature" and calls for a thorough investigation by law enforcement and child welfare organisations to determine whether there are any other facilities of this kind where innocent children are being brought from other regions of the country and subjected to abuse and harassment.
Additionally, the commission has requested that Rajinder Kumar Malik, its Special Rapporteur, travel to Bihar, the source from where these children were transported to Tamil Nadu.
The National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) stated that Malik "is expected to conduct a fact-finding investigation with regard to the incident wherein young orphaned juvenile victims were taken to places in different states," adding that it is "necessary" for the commission to know about "the responsible agencies in Bihar who failed to do their lawful duty."
The NHRC has also invited Malik to meet and interview the young victims in Chennai in order to learn more about the occurrence. Within a month, his report is anticipated.
According to a December 1 media report, the police were informed via the 1098 Helpline that some youngsters were being harassed and physically abused in a madrasa in Chennai's Ponniammanmedu neighbourhood, close to Madhavaram.
According to the pertinent IPC sections, a criminal case has been filed, and the accused, a Bihari native, has been taken into custody.
(Inputs from Agencies)