HP Police want teachers named in Pocso cases sacked

FOR KIDS’ SAFETY 9 teachers involved in POCSO cases in various schools across the state were suspended in 2019

SHIMLA: To ensure safety of children, the Himachal Pradesh police have recommended that the state government sack teachers who have cases under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act registered against them.

According to government data, nine teachers involved in POCSO cases in various schools were suspended in 2019.

DGP Sanjay Kundu had accorded top priority to safety of women and children when he joined office in May. The government had also announced a slew of measures for protection of children against sexual crimes in schools. A proposal to install CCTV in classes fell through halfway though police in the last two months took various initiatives to generate awareness of crimes against women.

“Services of teachers involved in sexual offences against children should be terminated at the earliest. If not acted upon promptly, these perpetrators can

find more opportunities to prey on young students, “Kundu said.

He had also introduced a new register, 26, in police stations to track crimes against women and children.

The police also stressed on the need for routine meetings between the DGP and additional chief secretary, social justice and women’s empowerment, to chalk out joint action plans and strategies to curb such crimes.

Monthly meetings between the DIG (crime) and director, women and child development, to coordinate issues between the two departments were suggested.

“They would act as nodal officers for their departments to take forward the joint annual action plan and take other necessary steps to address crimes against women and children,” added Kundu.

Other proposals included involving anganwadi workers and women police workers to flag such crimes, as a study had highlighted that in the majority of such cases perpetrators were known to the victim or were family members or relatives.

The study revealed that financial empowerment had not impacted crimes against women as last year 358 cases of rape were registered in the state where 50% were abusers within the family. What was more astonishing was that the studies revealed that 300 abusers were acquaintances of the victims.