With a view to handle cases of crimes against minors efficiently, the state home department has asked the police department to appoint a child welfare police officer at every police station across the state.
The directives come in wake of a recent instance of carelessness by the police in a sexual offence on a minor girl, which resulted in nontermination of her pregnancy.
According to the home department officials, a case of kidnapping and rape of a minor girl was registered at Virar police station in October last year. After the missing minor girl was found, she was taken for medical examination, which revealed that she was more than 23 weeks pregnant.
As per the provisions of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act, the girl should have been produced before the Women and Child Welfare Committee within 24 hours of her medical examination. However, the investigating officer produced the girl before the committee at Palghar after 45 days.
As a result, the girl got 30 weeks pregnant and therefore, her pregnancy could not be terminated. A writ petition was filed in the High Court in this regard and the court had expressed its displeasure at the way the police had handled the case. Following the incident, the state government has now directed the police department to handle cases of sexual offences on minors carefully.
"If the victim is a minor, then her complaint should be recorded in her language, in presence of her relative by a female police officer of a least sub-inspector rank. The victim's proper medical examination should be conducted and the victim should be produced before the women and child welfare committee within 24 hours of the medical examination. A child welfare police officer has to be appointed in every police station across the state," the guidelines stated. "The Maharashtra Police Academy should include POCSO and Juvenile Justice Act as subjects in its basic training course for the officers.
In order to increase sensitivity about such cases among the police officers, the unit commanders, including superintendents of police and commissioners of police should organise regular workshops," the guidelines further stated.
