Around 1 pm on Sunday, Shara Ashraf – an activist based in Delhi – received a video of a little girl who was handcuffed to a wall. The video was sent to her from a concerned resident of Bengaluru, taken near HAL road in the city. Shara immediately called the police, and the 7-year-old was rescued. Initial investigation shows that the girl’s mother – a domestic worker – was trying to protect her, as the girl has speech impairment and learning disabilities, and would wander away frequently.
DCP East Rahul Kumar, who alerted the HAL Police about the incident after he got information from Shara, told TNM, “The inspector immediately went to the spot as the activist had sent us the coordinates for the location. When he got there, he found that the girl was tied up by her mother.”
“The child has disabilities and has trouble speaking. The Inspector says that the girl may also have psychosocial disabilities. The mother informed the police that the girl would wander away from home when she was at work and the girl was tied up so she would not go away from home,” DCP Rahul added.
Police say that the woman is a domestic worker and she works multiple jobs. Several neighbours allegedly told the police that they had seen the mother tie up the girl a few times in the past.
“The mother is a domestic worker and is unaware about what she could do. She says she had to go look for her daughter every time she wandered away. We have not filed any case against the mother, but the girl has been taken into custody and will be produced before the Child Welfare Committee,” DCP Rahul said.
What parents/guardians should do
Speaking to TNM, Commissioner of the Karnataka State Commission for Persons With Disabilities (KSCPWD), Basavaraj says that many a times, parents do not realise that their children have learning disabilities, and therefore do not know how to get help.
"Generally, children who have both physical and learning disabilities are unable to communicate like other children. Hence they generally do various things to get the parent's attention and most of the times parents do not realise this. When a child is behaving in a certain way where it is evident that the child is facing some kind of disability, the first step for parents to do is to seek the help of a counsellor to understand what is happening to their children," Commissioner Basavaraj says.
Several schemes and policies have been drawn out by various governments help families access the right support systems, activists say.
According to Meena Jain, an independent consultant for special schools, one of the primary problems is the lack of awareness regarding the numerous facilities the child can avail from the state government.
How parents can avail help from the government
‘Awareness programmes not effective’
However, several awareness programmes that the government has planned have not been effective. Speaking to TNM, an officer with the KSCPWD says that although there are awareness programmes created to speard the word about the benefits persons with disabilities can avail, the reach is very limited.
“The problem is budgetary allocation and also the fact that the message is not reaching as many people as we should. This is something which has to be addressed as 5-6% of the state’s population comprises persons with disabilities,” the official said.
Basavaraj states that the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike, which is supposed to provide infrastructure for various centres to help such children is not doing its job properly.
"They have to provide infrastructure for schools, training centres and rehabilitation centres. BBMP is not doing that. that is also a major set back," he adds.
‘Community must get involved’
Commissioner Basavaraj says that the community surrounding such families must also take up the responsibility to educate the residents on what to watch out for.
"Resident Welfare Associations can create awareness. This is something which every single citizen should work towards so the lives of the children can be better," he adds.