Department-level action has been initiated against three officials who were on duty at the Government Children’s Home when six minor girls went missing from the institution. The action was taken against the three, including the Children’s Home (Girls) Superintendent and an officer in-charge of institutional care, subsequent to an order from Minister for Health Veena George on Wednesday. Though an internal inquiry report submitted by the District Child Protection Officer had reportedly given a clean chit to the staff, the latest action was recommended on the basis of another report submitted by the Department of Women and Child Welfare. The officers, held responsible for poor surveillance, were transferred.
Officials with the Social Justice Department said three of the six girls involved in the fleeing incident would be handed over to their own parents following official discussions. The case of the other three girls would be finalised on the basis of the order from the Child Welfare Committee, they said.
Meanwhile, the Chevayur police said the custody of the two youths, who were earlier arrested and remanded in judicial custody on the charges of sexual assaults against the girls, in Bengaluru, would not be sought again. They said the investigation against them was complete and no further search or recovery action part was pending in the case.
A senior police officer, who was part of the investigation, said the girls tried to portray the two youths as “innocent” as part of the efforts to save them from the case. “It was those two youths who were suspected of grooming the girls to flee from the children’s home and offering them accommodation in Bengaluru,” he said.
