Three boys who had been allegedly held captive by their parents for the past several years at their residence in Thathapilly near North Paravur in Ernakulam district were rescued on Tuesday based on an order issued by District Collector K. Mohammed Y. Safirulla.
The released children, aged 12, 9, and 6 years, were produced before the Child Welfare Committee (CWC) and shifted to an orphanage at Edathala, near here, along with their mother. Earlier in the day, a team of revenue officials led by the North Paravur tahsildar held discussions with the parents about releasing their children, to no avail.
Later in the evening, child protection unit officials, accompanied by a police team, reached the spot to carry out the evacuation. The children initially hesitated to come out, but later relented. The whole drama unfolded in front of a huge crowd, which had thronged the place since early morning.
Parents deny charges
During their interaction with the officials, the parents denied the allegation that the children had been denied education and said they were being given religious instruction at home. The incident came to the notice of the authorities after the District Legal Services Authority (DLSA) received a complaint from the District Child Protection Unit regarding the confinement of the three boys.
According to the complaint, the parents, Abdul Latheef and Rekha, never permitted their children to step out of their house except to buy vegetables from a shop nearby. Rekha, a native of Kedamangalam, is a lawyer by profession while her husband used to work as an advocate clerk.
Following this, a team headed by A.M. Basheer, secretary of the DLSA, had inspected the location and confirmed the veracity of the complaint.