First child-friendly PS in TS state opened

Hyderabad: To ensure a child-friendly world where all children are free from mistreatment, abuse and exploitation, Bachpan Bachao Andolan (BBA), founded by Nobel Peace Laureate Kailash Satyarthi, in collaboration with the Rachakonda Police Commissionerate inaugurated the State's first 'child-friendly' police station at the Rachakonda Medipally station here on Thursday. D Ishan, a seven-year-old survivor of a life-time disease, whose wish was to become the Police Commissioner for a day, inaugurated the child-friendly police station along with Rachakonda Police Commissioner Mahesh Bhagwat.

The inauguration ceremony that was organised to formally hand over the child-friendly police station to the authorities by BBA witnessed participation of over 200 students from nearby schools, esteemed dignitaries and personnel of the State's police department, State Commission for the Protection of Child Rights (SCPCR), Child Welfare Committee (CWC), District Child Protection Unit (DCPU) and District Legal Service Authority (DLSA).

According to NCRB data, the state has witnessed a 43 per cent increase in cases reported under POCSO from 2016 to 2017. Telangana has also seen a decrease in recovery rate of missing children from 76.5%in 2016 to 69.3% in 2017.

As part of the joint initiative, BBA will also organise a training session in order raise awareness, sensitise and inform police personnel on the guidelines laid down by the National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR) for establishing child-friendly police stations.

While highlighting the role of Police in child-related issues, the organisation apprised the stakeholders on the importance of ensuring that no procedural provisions are disregarded while dealing with the distressed children. With assistance from BBA, the child-friendly police station was decorated with wall paintings, furnished with beds and water coolers in order to make children, visiting the police stations, comfortable. In addition to this, the presence of books, toys and games in these rooms will aid in making children less anxious.

Mahesh Bhagwat appreciated the efforts and role of BBA in constructing the state's first child-friendly police station. Samir Mathur, CEO BBA, said, "We applaud this laudable initiative undertaken by the Telangana Police department.

Child-friendly police stations play a vital role in ensuring that every child has proper and timely access to justice. These police stations promise a facilitating environment and also encourage higher reporting of crimes relating to children. We are pleased to partner with the Telangana Government and hope that our strong alliance will be conducive in bringing justice to children in the state.

" In an endeavour to sensitise children on the issue of missing children, another event was organised by BBA in collaboration with State Legal Service Authority at Bhavans School, Neredmet. As part of the event, more than 4,000 children formed a human chain in solidarity against the menace of missing children in the state and the lack of reporting of such cases.

Through the initiative, the children also expressed their gratitude to the police efforts for their unswerving efforts in tracing missing children. The inauguration was also attended by IPS officer Sudheer Babu; Anjan Rao, Member SCPCR, Uday Kumar, Secretary, DLSA, and Dr Vasavi, a psychologist.