The prevalence of crime against underage children in the state of West Bengal has risen in recent years, prompting worries about their safety and rights. According to the NCRB’s Crime in India Report 2021, crime against minors accounted for almost 32% of all crimes in the state. However, on February 2, 2024, the National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR) tabled a special report in the Parliament, highlighting deliberate violations of legal procedures by the West Bengal government, and its officials in protecting minors’ rights and ensuring their safety.
The NCPCR highlighted that the state has failed to work in the best interest of the victims when the authorities were entrusted with the responsibility of protecting children’s rights.
“Deviations from enforced Laws have been found in the functioning of the Administration while dealing with extremely sensitive issues related to violence against children in the State. The Commission has noticed during the course of multiple inquiries that the State and District Administration have been non-cooperative and rampantly disregarding the Laws,” the report submitted by the NCPCR read.
The Commission noticed that there were deliberate violations of the laws and the minors were not treated with due care in several cases involving crimes against the children.
The Commission also investigated reports of bomb blasts throughout the state, involving approximately 40 minors. During the probe, the Commission discovered faults, oversights, and contempt for legal procedures. “Several children have been killed or maimed by these bombs which they mistook for playthings,” the report noted. Additionally, the State Government’s collaboration with Central authorities was found to be minimal on key issues.
NCPCR further highlighted 17 severe bomb blast cases from April 2022 to July 2023 in which the children were at the receiving end. As per the Commission, the state allegedly failed to carry out detailed investigations in the case leaving the perpetrators unpunished. “Such cases were shelved by the authorities calling them a cylinder blast,” the Commission noted.
The Commission has acknowledged reports of minors being targeted and subjected to torture, and cruel, and humiliating treatment in West Bengal after the 2021 election. The study mentions 23 incidents of post-poll violence and highlights that children have become fodder for a range of criminal activities.
The commission took suo moto cognisance of several blast cases in which the minor children either accidentally died or were left severely injured. The authorities investigated a blast in an illegal firecracker store in Bengal’s South 24 Parganas district, an explosion in the Jangipur area in Murshidabad District, a blast in the Atghora village in Narendrapur and also in Khatipur village located in Birbhum. In the majority of the cases, the Commission highlighted that the local administration failed to take steps in favor of the children who accidentally fell victim to the incidents and instead blamed the families of the victims for their negligence.
The Commission also noted that in several cases, no compensation was provided to the families of the victims.
During the Commission’s rescue efforts for trafficked minors, it was discovered that numerous rescued girls were relocated from West Bengal to other states or cities within the state. Despite the prevalence of child trafficking in West Bengal, the Chief Minister’s insensitive remarks regarding sexually abused girls violated the POCSO Act of 2012, which was passed by Parliament. “The country should be aware of the State Government’s contempt for the law,” NCPCR stated.
The State is not collaborating with Central Agencies or Institutions to defend our borders and children, demonstrating a callous approach to border protection and ignoring kid safety concerns, the report read.
As per the investigation further, the state is running a parallel system of dealing with what is being called ‘destitute children’. These institutions are called ‘Cottage Homes’ and are being run under the Cottage Scheme. The Commission observed that these Cottage Homes are poorly managed and children here are placed without following the due legal procedures.
Further, the Commission stated that the State did not pay attention to the education of the children and failed to enforce Section 12(1)(c) of the Right to Education Act 2009, which aims to provide education to impoverished populations and include children from marginalized groups in private unaided schools. “Not applying these regulations deprives children of their fundamental rights,” it said.
In the case of sexual assault and gang rapes of minors, the NCPCR opined that the legal procedures were not timely followed by the state administration which could have saved the lives of the minors. For instance, in one case involving a 17-year-old victim, the police did not lodge a missing complaint and also did not start the search operation in time, which could have saved her life. The girl belonging to the backward Rajbanshi community in Dinajpur had gone missing on 20th April 2023 around 6 pm and was later found dead. The minor was gang raped and then murdered. Further according to the enclosed media reports the body of the deceased girl was very brutally dragged on the streets of Kaliagunj area of North-Dinajpur District of West Bengal by the police officials.
“No one turned up for the inquiry, neither the Investigation officer nor the doctors who did the autopsy of the victim,” the Commission noted. In the given case, State Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee also made insensitive remarks against the victim saying that she had a love affair with the accused.
Notably, in the case of sexual abuse and death of a 14-year-old minor in Nadia, West Bengal, CM Mamata Banerjee had questioned if the minor girl who died after allegedly being raped in District Nadia had a love affair with the accused person. “How do you know if she was raped? The police are yet to ascertain the cause of the death. I had asked the police. Was she pregnant or had a love affair or was sick?” Banerjee was quoted as saying.
The Commission also stated that the state administrative authorities failed to cooperate with the NCPCR team as the latter attempted to expose the poor functioning of the authorities in cases involving minor victims. The NCPCR team members were manhandled, disrespected, and also physically abused.
The Commission in conclusion highlighted that the state of West Bengal has been failing to work for the rights of the minor children in cases involving them. The minor victims are deprived of justice and are falling prey to the poor functioning of the state administration. The said special report by the Commission was tabled in the Parliament in December 2023 and was discussed in the Lok Sabha on 2nd February 2024.
