Thalassery police registered a Protection of Children Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act against the chairman of the Child Welfare Committee (CWC) in Kannur.
The case is against District Child Welfare Committee chairman E.D. Joseph. The Thalassery police have registered a case based on the confidential statement given by the girl to the magistrate.
The case alleges that the 17-year-old girl, who was sexually assaulted, was mistreated when she arrived for counselling.
The Child Welfare Committee is the district-level authority that considers child abuse cases and proposes solutions.
According to police, the girl was taken to the office of the Child Welfare Committee at Eranholi, Thalassery, for counselling on October 21. The 17-year-old girl told the magistrate in a confidential statement that Mr. Joseph had misbehaved with her when she appeared for counselling before the committee.
During the course of the case, the girl complained that he used sexually explicit and derogatory language. The girl came to the Child Welfare Committee for counselling in connection with the POCSO case registered within the limits of Kannur Kudiyanmala police station.
However, when contacted Mr. Jospeh said that he had not abused the girl and had only sat down with women councillors and talked to her about what had happened.
“I have asked if there was any sexual intercourse to know what has happened and if there is a deliberate effort to implicate him in the case,” he said.
Such complaints would affect the working of Child Welfare Committee itself, he observed.
According to the Thalassery police, they have sought information from the Kudiyanmala police station where the case was registered and will take a statement from the chairman of the Child Welfare Committee.
