By Express News Service

KOCHI:The state government on Wednesday submitted before the Kerala High Court that children in Janaseva Sisubhavan, an orphanage in Aluva, were sexually abused and suffered physical torture. Besides, 62 kids went missing from the centre.

Meanwhile, Janaseva sought permission to withdraw the petition against taking over the children’s home and the court dismissed the petition as withdrawn. The state also made a revelation it apprehended children being brought to the state from outside states by Janaseva Sisuhavan, an orphanage at Aluva, for the purpose of human trafficking and for other allied activities.

A full-fledged investigation is needed to unearth the truth in this regard. Aluva Janaseva, which is the petitioner in the case, is a non-governmental organisation running two children’s homes - one at Mekkad, Ernakulam, for boys and another at Aluva for girls. Out of the 104 children, 60 are boys and 44 are girls.

The Social Justice Department submitted that Aluva Janaseva failed to give an explanation regarding the missing of children from the home. The institution has no registration contemplated under the Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act, 2015.

Only the management of the institution has been taken over by the government considering the interest of children, until their successful repatriation. The institution miserably failed to provide rehabilitation and reintegration services to the children in the home. Even though the other state children were having families of their own, Janaseva had procured Aadhaar cards in favour of some of them, wherein the address is shown as care of Jose Maveli, Janaseva Sisubhavan. The details of the children are being suppressed by the Janaseva so that nobody can trace their roots. The government pointed out four children who were missing from the institution were found at the Thrissur railway station engaging in begging.

Three other state children found missing from the petitioner institution were also traced from Malappuram and that too from an illegal child care institution.

A criminal case had been registered under Section 75 of the Juvenile Justice Act 2015 in the Kuttippuram police station based on the statement of a child that he had suffered physical torturing in Janaseva Sisubhavan. Besides, a case had also been registered under POCSO at Aylrur police station.