KOZHIKODE: The district child protection office on Saturday found serious lapses in the accommodation facilities for children at Madavoor CM Makham where a 12-year-old boy was stabbed to death by a man from Kasargod. According to the officials, 71 students of CM Makham Central School, in classes 8, 9 and 10, were staying in a dormitory where the pilgrims arriving from various areas had the opportunity to mingle with them.
Since the orphanage comes under the Orphanage Control Board, immediate action would be taken by the social justice department, according to sources. Kerala State Commission for the Protection of Child Rights chairperson Shobha Koshy told Deccan Chronicle that reports were sought from city police commissioner, DCPO, Childline and education department.
“Education department is also answerable as the school has to ensure that strangers are having a free movement on their premises and getting an opportunity to mingle with the children,” said Ms Koshy. The DCPO had in 2015 inspected another orphanage in the same area and found that the inmates were denied even public education and gave only religious instructions. After the intervention of the commission, some of the children were taken to schools and others taken back by their parents.
City police commissioner S. Kaliraj Mahesh Kumar said that the police offered all support to the child protection officials and they were currently probing the situations that led to the murder. The attacker, Shamsudheen, was remanded in custody for two days. Police said resisting to his advances to unnatural sex led to enmity and murder. More kids also came against his advances.
