In a coordinated action by members of the Kalaburagi District Child Welfare Committee (CWC), Child Helpline and officials of the Department of Women and Child Development, a 10-year old girl who had been pushed to the banned Devadasi system five years ago was rescued from a village in Chittapur taluk on Thursday evening. The girl, her parents, and the temple priest who performed the ritual, were taken to Talagi police station.
“The Dalit girl was pushed to Devadasi system about five years ago, but we came to know about it only today by 2 p.m. through the child helpline. We rescued the girl within two hours,” Vittal Chikani, a social activist and member of the CWC, told The Hindu over phone. The victim’s parents and Sharanappa, priest of Sammavva temple who had performed the rituals, confessed to the crime before the rescue officials.
“According to the parents, the girl was suffering from prolonged illness and the parents approached the temple priest who advised them to send their daughter as Devadasi.
All arrangements were made and the priest tied mangalasutra to the girl and performed all rituals,” C.V. Raman, Child Protection Officer, said. He added that the priest had confessed to having performed rituals for over 1,000 girls to make them Devadasis over several decades.
The CWC members said that two primary schoolteachers in the village, who knew about the incident, kept silent all these years despite the girl being their student.
“It is a serious case of dereliction of duty by public servants. I have directed the police and other concerned officials to make the teachers as accused in the FIR,” Ujjwal Kumar Ghosh, Deputy Commissioner, told The Hindu.
He said he would ensure that the rescued girl would be rehabilitated.
“We will take care of her at the government girls’ home. We will get her admitted to a government-run residential school in the district or outside,” Mr. Ghosh said.
Shivasharanappa, Child Development Project Officer, Anandraj, director of Margadarshi organisation, Sundaraj and Basavaraj, Child Helpline functionaries and others were part of the rescue operation.