Girl is “suppressed and rule-bound with her father”, reveals Committee ‘s inquiry report
Peerzada Ummer
Srinagar, Oct 31 :
The Child Welfare Committee (CWC) Srinagar has rubbished allegations of a minor girl that she was threatened, physically assaulted and intimidated by a male adult, an acquaintance of her mother.
As per the details available with news agency—Kashmir News Observer (KNO), the complaint was filed before the CWC Srinagar by the girl’s father that she had been repeatedly threatened and physically abused by her mother’s male acquaintance during her court-designated visits to the mother’s home.
The CWC Srinagar during the course of its investigation called the minor girl for recording her statement, and also questioned the mother and her male acquaintance.
The Child Welfare Committee, which is constituted under the Juvenile Justice Act, acts as a welfare body for the children who are in conflict with law and who are in need of care and protection. The committee’s report states that the girl’s testimony corroborated with the complaint filed by her father.
“The complaint specifically alleges misconduct … including physical assault, intimidation, use of abusive language, interference in family matters, and threats,” the committee said in its order, a copy of which lies in possession of KNO.
The minor girl’s statement “largely corroborates with the complaint, however, appears to have been made under influence,” the commission said.
The girl, who has been in the custody of father since she was 18 months old, visits her mother once in a month, following a court directive five years ago.
The father filed the complaint with the CWC Srinagar in August this year after the girl persistently refused to go to her mother’s home, complaining that an adult male there assaults and threatens her.
The committee dismissed the eight-year-old girl’s testimony on the grounds that she “appeared a little nervous, panicky and unsettled”.
The report filed by the committee’s social worker, Naushaba Khan, who has a degree in business administration and a post-graduate degree in social work in addition to a certification course in computer software, said the girl is “suppressed and rule-bound with her father”, by citing examples that the father disapproves “of dancing or western outfits”.
The social worker’s report, though not vetted by a practicing child psychologist, describes the psychological profile of the minor girl as exhibiting “dual personality”, which can otherwise be only diagnosed and confirmed by a professional psychologist.
The social worker has accused the child of “possibly lying to please her dominant parent”.
The commission’s report is also marred by serious discrepancies in its investigation as it quotes that three neighbours of the mother vouched for the male acquaintance’s “positive bond” with the minor girl and the two had a “beautiful bond”. However, the report quotes the mother to having stated that the accused male acquaintance has made “no visits to her residence in the past six months”.
When the complainant raised the issue of discrepancies in the commission’s order, a commission member refused to entertain the discrepancies, instead, threatening to call the police and asking the complainant to get out of the office.
The committee disposed of the report by “partially” upholding the complaint but rejected the “allegations of physical assault and systematic cruelty” as having not been “conclusively proven”. It, however, directed the accused to “strictly adhere” to his undertaking and refrain from “participating in or being present” during the girl’s visitation meetings with the mother—(KNO)