Convict’s children find ‘new home’

LUCKNOW: A 20-year-old daughter and a 19-year-old son of a woman serving life sentence have found a ‘new home’, after relatives refused to accept them.

Both are mentally challenged and were in the Nari Bandi Niketan with their mother. They have been shifted to the Drishti Samajik Sansthan (DSS) on the order of state legal service authority. The duo was accorded a warm welcome by inmates of the institution.

Recently, the UP state legal authority had held a camp at the Bandi Niketan, where they came across the specially-abled duo.

The girl is 20 years old but her mental age is two while her 19-year-old brother’s mental age is six. They were kept in Bandi Niketan so that they could be looked after.

As per prison laws, convicts’ children above the age of six cannot be allowed to stay in jail. As these two were to be shifted in accordance with law, the authority directed that they be shifted to Drishti Samajik Sansthan.

Medical assessment shows that the girl has 90% brain impairment (falling in the category of ‘severe mental retardation’) while her brother has 75%brain impairment (‘moderate mental retardation’ category).

As they have been growing physically, they are faced with different issues. An official said they need extra care and training as they have been going through hormonal changes.

“In September, we received a letter seeking our consent to lodge these children here. After we consented, the two were brought here on October 15,” said Dhiresh Bahadur, president of Drishti Samajik Sansthan.

He added, “We have a qualified team to take care of such inmates. “We have seen more acute cases. Today, many specially-abled children in our home are living close to a normal life. I am hopeful our institution will be able to do the needful for them.”

BOTH ARE MENTALLY CHALLENGED AND WERE IN NARI BANDI NIKETAN WITH THEIR MOTHER. THEY HAVE BEEN SHIFTED TO DSS ON THE ORDER OF STATE LEGAL SERVICE AUTHORITY