Do not allow visitors in protection homes, Telangana high court to child welfare officials

HYDERABAD: The Telangana high court on Thursday directed child welfare authorities not to allow visitors in protection homes to see the girls rescued from Yadadri child trafficking dens. The girls have been kept in protection homes run by the women and child welfare department in Nalgonda district and Prajwala NGO in Ranga Reddy district. The court was hearing a PIL and has been monitoring both the welfare of the rescued kids and the probe to nab the traffickers.

The counsel for Prajwala told the court that the child welfare committees being run by the state in Nalgonda and Ranga Reddy districts are according permissions to several politicians and their followers to visit the homes where the rescued kids are staying. “As per the orders of the court, we have been denying access to outsiders and are protecting the kids. But we are finding difficult to do the same when the contingents are arriving with permission letters from CWCs. Such visitors are behaving in a highhanded manner too,” the counsel said.

The court enquired with the state counsel as to why this is happening even after the court passed an order in the past not to allow access to outsiders. The court also dismissed the pleas of some persons claiming to be foster mothers and guardians seeking access to the kids. Their counsel pleaded with the court to allow them some occasional access.

The bench verified with special counsel Sarat Kumar if they had anything to say in the matter. The state counsel urged the court not to allow any access to them. “The probe is in full swing and would be over within two months. Any intrusions by outsiders at this stage may adversely impact the probe,” Kumar said. “Child friendly court is a magistrate court which is not empowered to hear sessions cases. We have to identify a child friendly sessions court too,” the counsel added.

Dismissing the pleas of ‘foster parents’, the court asked them to file their pleas again at a later stage. “If any of you had made complaints about the woes of the kids in the past, before the court took up the plight of these hapless children, we probably would have considered your plea,” the judge said.