Juvenile Home - Jail for minors in Kashmir
SRINAGAR; 01, Sep 2012: From the fortified windows of the two-storey building of the juvenile home here, some children are seen watching the hustle bustle in the nearby Harwan Gardens. They wave their hands and seem to join their free counterparts in the garden. These children, undergoing imprisonment for different faults, are locked behind iron doors.
Since 2008, the Indian Government has detained hundreds of children on charges of stone pelting and taking part in pro-freedom protests. Recently the detention of 12-year old Faizan of Srinagar for taking part in anti-Indian protests made headlines. A class 6 student, Faizan was charged by police with harsh accusations like ‘waging war against the India’ and ‘attempt to murder. Indian forces’
Entering into the juvenile home is no less disturbing. The building is highly fortified. Besides the fencing, the building is covered with concertina wire. For a visit, a written permission from Director Social Welfare Department is a must. When this correspondent entered the home, the imprisoned minors were peeping through the iron doors. They disappeared in seconds as they were warned.
“They peep through these iron doors expecting that somebody has come to meet them,” says a policeman of Indian Police .
The juvenile home is no different from a jail. It has 18 rooms for minors and every door and window is iron made which are always locked. “It pains us all,” says Superintendent of the home, Ghulam Ahmad Manphoo.
Manphoo says that he took charge of the home four months ago and did not allow Indian police to bring the children handcuffed.
The ground floor houses the office of the Superintendent, a dining hall, recreation hall and a filthy kitchen.
All the doors to the first floor, which houses the prisons for the minors, are iron made and locked. The keys are with the police personnel. It has 18 rooms and each room has six beds with shabby bedding.
The minors can’t venture out of their rooms.
The inmates’ parents can meet their children once in a month.
In a room the children were sitting on their beds, but were quite frightened. This correspondent tried to speak to some of them, but they did not talk.
Superintendent says though we are trying to provide good food and other amenities to the children, but the Indian Government is paying peanuts for the same. “Government pays mere Rs 50 per day for each detained minor which is a mockery. We had written to the Indian Government to double the amount, but there is no reply,” he says.
The home is guarded by the cops of Jammu and Kashmir Police. “It is a jail for we people,” a cop posted at the juvenile home said. “But it hurts us when children are brought here, most of them handcuffed,” he adds.
Since 2008, the Indian Government has detained hundreds of children on charges of stone pelting and taking part in pro-freedom protests. Recently the detention of 12-year old Faizan of Srinagar for taking part in anti-Indian protests made headlines. A class 6 student, Faizan was charged by police with harsh accusations like ‘waging war against the India’ and ‘attempt to murder. Indian forces’
Entering into the juvenile home is no less disturbing. The building is highly fortified. Besides the fencing, the building is covered with concertina wire. For a visit, a written permission from Director Social Welfare Department is a must. When this correspondent entered the home, the imprisoned minors were peeping through the iron doors. They disappeared in seconds as they were warned.
“They peep through these iron doors expecting that somebody has come to meet them,” says a policeman of Indian Police .
The juvenile home is no different from a jail. It has 18 rooms for minors and every door and window is iron made which are always locked. “It pains us all,” says Superintendent of the home, Ghulam Ahmad Manphoo.
Manphoo says that he took charge of the home four months ago and did not allow Indian police to bring the children handcuffed.
The ground floor houses the office of the Superintendent, a dining hall, recreation hall and a filthy kitchen.
All the doors to the first floor, which houses the prisons for the minors, are iron made and locked. The keys are with the police personnel. It has 18 rooms and each room has six beds with shabby bedding.
The minors can’t venture out of their rooms.
The inmates’ parents can meet their children once in a month.
In a room the children were sitting on their beds, but were quite frightened. This correspondent tried to speak to some of them, but they did not talk.
Superintendent says though we are trying to provide good food and other amenities to the children, but the Indian Government is paying peanuts for the same. “Government pays mere Rs 50 per day for each detained minor which is a mockery. We had written to the Indian Government to double the amount, but there is no reply,” he says.
The home is guarded by the cops of Jammu and Kashmir Police. “It is a jail for we people,” a cop posted at the juvenile home said. “But it hurts us when children are brought here, most of them handcuffed,” he adds.
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