New Delhi: The apex child rights body, NCPCR, asked the Uttar Pradesh Police on Tuesday to investigate whether anti-social elements involved children in the recent communal violence in Kanpur.
In a letter to the Kanpur police commissioner, the National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR) stated that it had come across a media report stating that a minor boy surrendered at the city’s Colonelganj police station because the police posters depicting suspects involved in the June 3, violence included his picture.
According to the report, the said minor boy was involved in stone-pelting and was identified through video footage.
As a result, the NCPCR believes that the anti-social elements involved in the Kanpur communal violence used minors for illegal activities that are prima facie in violation of sections 75 and 83(2) of the Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act, 2015, as well as sections of the Indian Penal Code.
The Commission hereby requests your good offices to immediately initiate an investigation and further supplement the relevant sections of the Juvenile Justice Act and the IPS (IPC) in the FIR against the accused person in the said matter as prima facie it is observed that the charges are cognizable in nature, it said.
The NCPCR requested that the police bring the minor boy before the Child Welfare Committee (CWC).
The NCPCR also requested that the Kanpur police submit an action taken report, as well as a copy of the minor’s CWC statement and other relevant records, within three days of receiving its letter.
During the clashes, at least 40 people were injured, including 20 police officers.
