CHILDLINE 1098

Minor girl child tortured, stepfather arrested

In India, around 10,975 cases of physical abuse were reported to CHILDLINE, out of which 5637 were family related and 237 were due to step parents, as per CHILDNNET publication 2017 (analysis of calls on 1098).

Pooja was living with her mother and stepfather. She was facing physical torture by her stepfather on several occasions.  Her mother was aware about all this torture but she used to bear it all, as she was completely dependent on Pooja’s stepfather financially and never revealed this incident to anybody fearing her husband.

One day local people heard poignant cry of the girl and tried to intervene. The parents did not heed the requests of local people and ignored them. The neighboring people informed CHILDLINE that the girl is facing the torture from her stepfather from long time. CHILDLINE immediately visited the place to verify the authenticity of the information. As the team reached the girl’s house, the girl ran towards CHILDLINE team and tried to hide behind them with timid looks.

Following the inquiry by CHILDLINE team, a rescue team comprises of CHILDLINE members and police visited the house and rescued Pooja.  Looking at her injuries, CHILDLINE team immediately sent her to the hospital for medical checkup. With the request of CHILDLINE, the concerned hospital provided proper treatment to Pooja.

CHILDLINE team filed an FIR against the accused i.e. Pooja’s stepfather under the Sections 341 IPC & Sec 75 of JJ Act 2015 and he was arrested.  The necessary support and counseling was provided to Pooja before she was presented in front of Child Welfare Committee (CWC).  Currently, Pooja is staying at Government Children Home for temporary period. 

Disclaimer:  Names and details have been changed to maintain confidentiality as required.