The Thiruvananthapuram Rural police have set their sight on enhancing legal awareness among the tribespeople in various parts of the district.
The special drive assumes significance in the wake of multiple cases of child suicide and sexual abuse that have been reported from rural tribal settlements in places including Peringamala.
The suspected suicide of five tribal girls in Palode and Vithura since September had shocked the authorities into action. Instances of abuse of tribal children are also on the rise. It was also a few days ago that the Vithura police had arrested two youths on charges of raping two sisters.
District Police Chief (Thiruvananthapuram Rural) Divya V. Gopinath is confident that empowering youngsters by enhancing legal literacy would bring down the prevalence of atrocities among marginalised communities.
“The general public were not forthcoming in reporting instances of child abuse earlier. However, increasing awareness has led to a spurt in cases that pertains to the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act that deals with atrocities against children. The same strategy is bound to benefit youngsters from the tribal communities,” Dr. Gopinath said.
The alleged sexual abuse of the sisters had come to light when the elder of the two had been abducted by her relative. While the survivor’s statement had taken the lid off months of torture, the investigation team unravelled the plight of the younger sister after finding her in a depressed state. She was provided counselling to help her open up on her traumatic experience that came as a shock to her parents.
Dr. Gopinath stressed on the need to encourage youngsters to take their parents and teachers into confidence to divulge such problems.
The police have already initiated orientation programmes for the children and youth in various pockets. Classes have been led by the Inspectors of local police units in certain wards. However, plans to conduct sensitisation drives that involved various other departments had to be deferred as the third COVID-19 wave prompted restrictions all over. Under such circumstances, immediate focus was on actionable cases, she added.
Law enforcers including excise officials have been maintaining high vigil to thwart the possibility of nefarious activities in tribal settlements. As part of enhancing surveillance, the Scheduled Tribes Development Department is mulling over installing CCTV cameras along the access routes to tribal colonies in Palode. The tribal heads (‘oorumooppans’) had aired their concerns over outsiders venturing into such areas.
