Latest news with #DistrictChildProtectionUnit
New Indian Express
3 hours ago
- New Indian Express
Shelter staff in Coimbatore booked for assaulting minor after video surfaces
COIMBATORE: Around eight months after an alleged incident of harassment involving a minor inmate at a private shelter home in Coimbatore, police have booked a staff member following the circulation of a disturbing video on social media. The accused has been identified as Joseph Renold (35), who has been charged under Section 75 of the Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act, which deals with cruelty towards children. The Karumathampatti police have initiated the arrest process, sources said. The shelter home, located in Nallagoundanpalayam, houses disabled individuals and those who have been abandoned. A recent video showed a minor boy displaying wounds he claimed were inflicted by a warden. The video also showed a group of individuals assaulting a young girl in a room. Following the video's release, the District Child Protection Unit (DCPU) conducted an inquiry and confirmed that the incident had occurred nearly eight months ago. Based on their findings, the DCPU lodged a complaint with the police, leading to a formal investigation and the booking of Renold. Sources said the video had been recorded by individuals working at the shelter and was only released recently. While the offence is non-bailable, no arrests have been made yet. Further inquiries with other staff and those who shared the video are under way.
New Indian Express
3 hours ago
- New Indian Express
Teacher held under Pocso Act in Krishnagiri
KRISHNAGIRI: A 35-year-old teacher appointed by the School Management Committee (SMC) in a Government Higher Secondary School (GHSS) near Krishnagiri was arrested under the Pocso Act late at night on Thursday. Sources said the District Child Protection Unit (DCPU) on Thursday received information about child abuse in a GHSS near Krishnagiri by a temporary teacher, following which a DCPU team rushed to the school on Thursday and held enquiries. The enquiry revealed that the SMC-appointed social science teacher has been working for over a year and allegedly sexually assaulted six girls in classes 6 and 9. Based on the statement, Legal cum Probation Officer of Krishnagiri DCPU, J Raghuraman, lodged a complaint at Krishnagiri All Women's Police Station (AWPS), and the teacher was booked under section 7 r/w 8 of the Pocso Act. He was later arrested and remanded. "The school headmaster, who was aware of the incident on Tuesday, did not inform DCPU until the team reached the spot on Thursday," said a police source. This is the fifth case in which a government school teacher has been booked under the Pocso Act since last month. Krishnagiri Chief Education Officer (in-charge) A Muniraj said, "We have already informed school headmasters to follow the GO 89 issued this April by the School Education Department with a course of action to be taken in case of such offences and procedures to be followed to inform concerned authorities. Within a week, headmasters will be directed to raise awareness about the GO among teachers. There are 102 higher secondary schools, 170 high schools, 1,740 panchayat union primary and middle schools in the district, apart from this, government schools and private schools will also be asked to follow the GO." He added, "Already, names of 50 government school teachers in 10 blocks have been given to the District Child Protection Unit, who will be given training about the Pocso Act, who in turn, will give training about the Act in their respective blocks." It may be noted that in March, the DCPU had distributed child safety awareness posters to about 2,000 schools in the district, which have contact numbers and support mechanisms.
The Hindu
13 hours ago
- The Hindu
Staffer of private home near Coimbatore booked for harassing inmate
The Coimbatore District Police have registered a case against the staffer of a private home on the charge of harassing an inmate. The accused has been identified as Joseph Renold, 35, who works in a home for destitute children, elderly persons, women and people with disabilities at Nallagoundenpalayam. He was booked for offence under Section 75 of the Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act based on a complaint from an official of the District Child Protection Unit (DCPU). According to the police, DCPU conducted an inquiry after a video of a minor inmate of the home in distress surfaced. The inmate, who displayed wounds, alleged that they were inflicted by a staffer. The inquiry revealed that the incident took place around eight months ago. A complaint was lodged with the Karumathampatti police and Renold was booked in connection with the incident. Further investigation is on.
India Today
3 days ago
- India Today
Cleric arrested in two-year-old case for raping 5-year-old girl in Karnataka mosque
A case of child sexual abuse has come to light in Karnataka's Belagavi district, nearly two years after the incident occurred. A 5-year-old girl was allegedly raped by a 22-year-old Maulvi inside a mosque in the Murugod accused, identified as Tufail Ahmed Dadafir from Bagalkote district, was arrested after a video of the assault surfaced on social media and went incident took place on October 5, 2023, but the case was only registered recently after the video drew public outrage. The footage, which also included a background voice of a man claiming to be the victim's father, led the Belagavi police to take action. According to the audio, the man had known about the incident and had access to the video since the same month, but had refrained from filing a police complaint due to fear and to the media, Superintendent of Police Bhimashankar Guled said the case came to the department's attention through their social media monitoring cell. 'We came to know about the video, which showed a young girl being sexually assaulted, along with audio in which a man describes the incident and expresses anguish,' he police were able to identify the building seen in the video and confirmed it was a mosque. They approached the mosque committee and traced the victim's despite multiple attempts, the parents were reluctant to lodge a formal complaint. Given the gravity of the incident, the police sought assistance from the District Child Protection Unit. An Anganwadi worker eventually filed a complaint under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act and relevant IPC sections, since the incident occurred before the new Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita replaced the IPC.A police team then launched a manhunt and located the accused in Malepur village of Bagalkote district. He was arrested in an overnight operation and has since been remanded to judicial custody at Hindalga SP urged the public to report such crimes, adding, 'Let this be a lesson. Even if someone tries to escape justice initially, the law will catch up with them.'- Ends IN THIS STORY#Karnataka
The Hindu
3 days ago
- The Hindu
Bid to sell infant foiled near Coimbatore
An alleged attempt by a woman to sell a newborn was foiled by a joint team of the District Child Protection Unit (DCPU), the police, Childline and a non-governmental organisation, near Somanur in Coimbatore district, on Tuesday. The Race Course police arrested K. Sindhu, 32, of Anna Nagar at Pallapalayam near Mangalam in Tiruppur district, for attempting to sell the 11-day-old girl child. The police said that a 32-year-old woman from Pallapalayamgave birth to her fourth girl child at Coimbatore Medical College Hospital on July 25. Unable to take care of the child, the woman and her husband allegedly handed over the baby to Sindhu, said the police. Meanwhile, the Childline (1098) in Coimbatore on Tuesday received an alert on the alleged plan to sell the baby and it in turn informed the matter to the DCPU. Officials from the DCPU and three members from Coimbatore-based NGO First Heart Foundations Network rescued the baby from a house at Aathupalayam near Somanur. The rescued baby was handed over to the Child Welfare Committee in Coimbatore. The child's parents, Sindhu, and another couple were also brought to Coimbatore and produced before the Race Course police. The police arrested Sindhu, who allegedly planned to sell the baby. Further investigation is on.
