JJB HAS ORDERED ENQUIRY INTO THE DETENTION OF MINORS BY MARGAO POLICE

PANJIM: The juvenile justice board (JJB) has ordered an inquiry into the alleged illegal detention of three minors for interrogation and issued summons to the Margao police. The minors were arrested by the Margao police for their involvement in a series of robbery cases.

In his order on Friday, the JJB principal magistrate of Apna Ghar, the state-run home, summoned the PI and IO of Margao town police station along with case papers for enquiry in the alleged matter.

The inquiry was ordered after an NGO working with children lodged a complaint with the JJB asking for an inquiry against the police officers for illegal detention from Tuesday night till Thursday evening at the police station. "It is to be noted that there is no provision which empowers the police under the Juvenile Justice Act 2000 and rules 2007 to detain a child overnight for interrogation," said NGO SCAN -- India in a letter to the JJB.

"It has been proved to the board that children are becoming soft targets for police to rope them in crimes they have not committed," the letter added. Agreeing with this, JJB member Prachi Khandeparkar said, "At times we have come across cases wherein a minor arrested in a crime by the police is lodged at Apna Ghar or is under remand, yet the police go and search their home alleging their involvement in crimes. There are also a few cases in which once a child in caught in a particular crime, then every time similar crime happens, the minor is picked up even though there is no incriminating evidence against him and inquiry is not foolproof."

Incidentally, this allegation is not without reason. One of the three minors was also arrested earlier by the Margao police in February 2010 for his alleged involvement in a theft case in which he along with others entered a temple in Margao by removing the rear side roof tiles and broke open the donation box by using a pickaxe and decamped with cash of Rs 52,000.

The JJB had discharged the minor from the theft case as there was no reference to the minor in the recovery panchnama nor was any incriminating evidence found against him. Yet he was arrested and forced to spend time at Apna Ghar. The court, observing that the assistant public prosecutor fairly conceded the fact that there was no incriminating evidence found against the minor, also observed that the chargesheet against the minor is groundless and discharged him.

However, Margao PI Santosh Desai claimed that they had not illegally detained the minor children. "As soon as they were arrested, they were sent to Apna Ghar," said PI Desai. (TNN)