MP woman moves high court for custody of daughter rescued from brothel in 2018
Vaibhav Ganjapure | tnn | Feb 19, 2019, 03:17 IST
Nagpur: A woman from Madhya Pradesh has approached the high court to get custody of her daughter, who was rescued in a raid on a brothel at Wani in Yavatmal district on November 28, 2018. After she was caught with other accused, the rescued girl was initially kept at children’s remand home at Yavatmal, and then shifted to the remand home operated by the Child Welfare Committee (CWC) at Nagpur. She was detained by the cops as a ‘child in conflict with the law’, being a minor.
When the girl’s Raigad (MP) based mother approached the Juvenile Welfare Committee (JWC) at Yavatmal to get back her custody, she was referred to Chandrapur remand home, which had actually taken custody. However, the authorities there directed the petitioner to approach CWC authorities in city, who referred her back to Yavatmal JWC.
Since authorities from both cities kept passing the buck to each other, the mother approached the HC to get custody of her daughter, who the mother claims is a major of 20 years.
In the first hearing, the HC asked the CWC to present her in court on Monday. Accordingly, she was produced before the division bench comprising justices Sunil Shukre and Shreeram Modak, which adjourned the hearing till Thursday.
The mother through counsel TJ Bansod prayed for directives to respondents to hand over custody of her daughter, who is currently detained at CWC remand home.
She alleged that her daughter is 20 years old and it was proved with her Aadhar card, yet she is being mentally and physically harassed by respondents. Her date of birth is mentioned as January 1, 1998, and her detention amounts to illegal confinement. There is no provision for her confinement and even Sections 97 and 171 of Criminal Procedure Code (CrPC) don’t justify her detention, as she is over 18 years old, the mother argued.
After the November 28 raid, Yavatmal cops registered offences against accused under Prevention of Immoral Traffic Act (PITA) and the Indian Penal Code on a report lodged by Sanjay Dahake.
As per the complainant, the girl was illegally brought by two women — Babita and Rekha — who were her distant relatives. Both women were accused of running a brothel in Prem Nagar slums at Wani. Both were arrested for procuring minor girls from Chota Berasia in neighbouring state, and forcing them into the flesh trade.
When the girl’s Raigad (MP) based mother approached the Juvenile Welfare Committee (JWC) at Yavatmal to get back her custody, she was referred to Chandrapur remand home, which had actually taken custody. However, the authorities there directed the petitioner to approach CWC authorities in city, who referred her back to Yavatmal JWC.
Since authorities from both cities kept passing the buck to each other, the mother approached the HC to get custody of her daughter, who the mother claims is a major of 20 years.
In the first hearing, the HC asked the CWC to present her in court on Monday. Accordingly, she was produced before the division bench comprising justices Sunil Shukre and Shreeram Modak, which adjourned the hearing till Thursday.
The mother through counsel TJ Bansod prayed for directives to respondents to hand over custody of her daughter, who is currently detained at CWC remand home.
She alleged that her daughter is 20 years old and it was proved with her Aadhar card, yet she is being mentally and physically harassed by respondents. Her date of birth is mentioned as January 1, 1998, and her detention amounts to illegal confinement. There is no provision for her confinement and even Sections 97 and 171 of Criminal Procedure Code (CrPC) don’t justify her detention, as she is over 18 years old, the mother argued.
After the November 28 raid, Yavatmal cops registered offences against accused under Prevention of Immoral Traffic Act (PITA) and the Indian Penal Code on a report lodged by Sanjay Dahake.
As per the complainant, the girl was illegally brought by two women — Babita and Rekha — who were her distant relatives. Both women were accused of running a brothel in Prem Nagar slums at Wani. Both were arrested for procuring minor girls from Chota Berasia in neighbouring state, and forcing them into the flesh trade.
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