A 13-year-old girl was allegedly detained for over four days, without being produced in court within 24 hours as per norms, in Telangana's Narayanpet district.
The incident came to light after a report by Velugu, a Telugu daily. According to the report, the mother of the minor girl said that her daughter was accused of theft over 50 days ago.
She was reportedly taken to the Sakhi women counselling centre after she was taken into their custody.
The report claimed that the police kept her at the counselling centre for over four days, without producing her before the local court.
Narayanpet Child Development Project Officer (CDPO) of the Integrated Child Development Services (ICDS) told TNM that the matter came to their notice only after the report.
The role of the Sakhi counselling centre’s staff is also being probed.
The issue was later brought to the notice of the Child Welfare Committee (CWC) and is being investigated.
Questions are being raised as to why the minor was kept at a Sakhi women counselling centre, which is meant for adult women over the age of 18, without allegedly producing her before the court as per the rules.
Under the Juvenile Justice Act, children in conflict with law must be produced in front of the Juvenile Justice Board, which includes a magistrate, within 24 hours of their arrest.
When TNM reached out to the Deputy Superintendent of Police (DySP), Narayanpet on the issue, the officer denied the allegations and said that due process was followed. “Nothing of that sort happened. The girl was produced before the court as per the rules, following the due procedure," the senior officer said, denying further comment on the matter.
In April 2020, a police constable was suspended after videos in which he was seen beating up a man in front of a child, had gone viral in Wanaparthy district during the COVID-19 lockdown.