MALAPPURAM: Complaint that a 14-year-old POCSO survivor was separated from her one-and-a-half-year-old son. The girl living in a shelter home in Manjeri, Malappuram has come forward with a demand to release her son.
The child and mother were admitted to a shelter home in November 2022 after the information came out that the girl was a survivor of a POCSO case. The paternal sister had submitted an application to the Child Welfare Committee, saying that she is ready to protect the mother and the baby and they may release them into her custody. The 14-year-old was allowed to stay with her close relative, but she was told that she could not bring her one-and-a-half-year-old son with her.
The authorities took the position that the baby should remain under the care of the CWC. With this, the one-and-a-half-year-old boy was denied even breast milk. A complaint was also raised that the survivor was made to agree in writing that she is ready to live alone without the baby till she reaches adulthood.