Bangalore:
Thirteen-year-old Pooja maintained her composure as she narrated her agonies to the media about the repeated physical and mental violence that she was subjected to by her employers at Hebbal, for almost a year. Pooja was rescued by the Karnataka State Commission for Protection of Child Rights (KSCPCR) on Wednesday, after they got a call from a conscientious citizen from Hebbal.
The anonymous caller told KSCPCR that a defence personnel in his neighbourhood, Saurabh Das and his wife Kaka, had been repeatedly torturing their minor domestic help. When members of KSCPCR approached the Hebbal police station, the police informed that the girl had been sent to the women's shelter home, Sumangali Seva Ashram, at SSA Road, RT Nagar. "It is shocking that the police, instead of bringing the minor girl to the Child Welfare Committee (CWC), kept her at the ashram," said Vasudev Sharma, a senior member of the commission. Showing her injuries on her hands and legs, Pooja, a native of Chittaranjan in Jharkhand, said that her employers Saurabh and Kaka inflicted severe violence on her for almost a year. "I was made to take my shower at the rooftop, which had no cover. On several occasions, some residents of the area had clicked my nude pictures on their mobile phones," said Pooja.
Pooja has five sisters and two brothers. Her father had passed away and her mother was working as a domestic help. On Sunday (November 7) she fled from her employer's house at Aryan Towers, Guddadahalli, Hebbal. Saurabh lodged an FIR at the police station that his 19-year-old sister, Pooja, was missing. However, after roaming aimlessly for almost a day, Pooja returned on Monday night. Saurabh then informed the police about Pooja's return.
"At Saurabh's house, Pooja told the police that she did not want to stay there," said Sharma. "The police, then sent the girl to the ashram and this is a complete violation of child rights," said Nina Nayak, chairperson of the commission. Officials at Hebbal police station said that they were investigating the matter.
"We have spoken to her mother Kalyani and her relatives at Chittaranjan, who will arrive in Bangalore on Thursday," said a police official.
Members of KSCPCR took Pooja to the Girls' Home run by the Department of Women and Child Development on Wednesday evening.
Pooja will be produced later at the CWC office on Friday. The CWC may file a case against Saurbah and Kaka.
(The name of the minor has been changed).
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