India
The crime branch of Kerala arrests Janaseva Shishubhavan chairman and two others in the case of sexual abuse of five children at the centre; according to the State authorities, four children have been missing, too
The Kerala government has alleged that five children at an orphanage in Ernakulam were sexually exploited and four children were missing. So far, three persons have been arrested.
The incidents came to light after the government took over Janaseva Shishubhavan in Aluva and Nembassery following complaints of irregularities. The sexual abuse took place one-and-a-half years ago.
Chairman of the home Jose Maveli was arrested under Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act (POCSO), Section 21 (2). This Section of the Act states if the chief of a particular organisation, where the crime has been committed, tries to cover up the incident, it will amount to the chief committing the crime.
Vishnu, the main accused in the case, was a minor when the incident happened but now he is said to be 18 years old and can be tried by the court. The third person to be arrested in the case is Robin, who is charged with concealing the information.
The Social Justice Department filed a report in this regard.
Vishnu would allegedly take the children to his room by force and make them watch pornography. Then he would ask them to imitate the scenes from the porn videos. Further, the children were allegedly forced to have bath in the open.
The case is being heard by the Kerala High Court and Jose Maveli has said that the centre he ran was legal. But the government has stated that the children's home does not have a license according to the Juvenile Justice Act.
In addition to the current allegations, the Child Welfare Committee found during its raids that there were only 42 children against 104 claimed by the centre.
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