New Delhi: The apex child rights body NCPCR on Tuesday asked the Uttar Pradesh Police to probe if children were involved by anti-social elements in the recent communal violence in Kanpur.
In a letter to the Kanpur police commissioner, the National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR) said it has come across a media report which stated that a minor boy surrendered at Colonelganj police station in the city as the posters of suspects involved in the June 3 violence put up by the police included his picture.
The report further indicates that the said minor boy was involved in stone-pelting and he was identified through video footage, it said.
Hence, the NCPCR said, it is of the view that the anti-social elements involved in the communal violence in Kanpur used minors for such illegal activities which are prima facie in contravention of sections 75 and 83(2) of the Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act, 2015, and sections of the Indian Penal Code.
“The Commission thereby requests your good offices to initiate an inquiry and further supplement the relevant sections of Juvenile Justice Act and IPS (IPC) in the FIR, at once, against the accused person in the said matter as prima facie it is observed that the charges are cognisable in nature,” it said.
NCPCR requested the police to produce the minor boy before the Child Welfare Committee (CWC).
The NCPCR also asked the Kanpur police to submit an action taken report along with a copy of the minor’s statement made before the CWC and other relevant records within three days of receipt of its letter.
The violence broke out in Pared, Nai Sadak and Yateemkhana areas of Kanpur on June 3 when some people tried to force shopkeepers to down shutters over allegedly insulting remarks made by BJP spokesperson Nupur Sharma against Prophet Mohammad during a TV debate, according to police.
At least 40 people, including 20 police personnel, were injured during the clashes.
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