Row over minor girls from Meghalaya being taken to TN
SHILLONG: A day after Social Welfare Minister Deborah Marak pointed fingers at the Lei Synshar Cultural Society for taking 20 minor girls from the State to Tamil Nadu without seeking necessary clearance from the State Child Welfare Committee, the president of the organisation in question has asserted that since the children did not belong to the category of “child in need of care and protection”, no permission besides that of the parents was required from any authority.
Informing this here on Wednesday, Lei Synshar Cultural Society president BB Khonglam said the children were sent to Hosur in Tamil Nadu with the consent of the respective parents.
It may be mentioned that as per the Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act, 2000 a “child in need of care and protection” is one without a shelter or abode and without any ostensible means of subsistence.
According to Khonglam, the parents of the minor girls have already moved the Madras High Court against the actions of the Tamil Nadu Child Welfare Committee for taking the girls into their custody following which the court issued an order to maintain status quo on the issue.
It may be mentioned that the girls from Meghalaya were taken to Nivedhitha Seva Trust in May last, and were being provided free boarding, lodging and education.
The Madras High Court had, on several occasions, deferred the hearing on the issue, and the next hearing is expected to take place on January 2.
