Daijiworld Media Network - Mangalore (SP)
Mangalore, Oct 2: A 11 year-old daughter of a colonel presently stationed at Kochi and a child labourer working as housemaid in her house, both of whom left home for a jolly trip, were found travelling directionless in the city. After the bus employees passed on information about them to the policemen, they were rescued and handed over to the family.
Roshni, a sixth standard student, had secured very low marks in the class tests. As she was afraid to share this information with her father, she consulted housemaid Manjula, who is a little older than her. Manjula suggested that going to Bangalore would be an excellent way of driving away mental tensions.
On Friday September 25, both of them went to Kochi railway station and boarded a train at around 6.30 pm. Manjula carried a Rs 100 note with her, while Roshni took with her the school bag. They did not buy any tickets, and were left unchecked by the railway staff. When the train reached Kundapur the next morning, they alighted. After enquiring with a few, both of them came to the city on a bus, not knowing what to do next. The bus driver and conductor called the police control room about the children, and the Bunder police station sub-inspector Manjunath came to Jyoti Circle and took the children from the bus they were travelling in, to the women's police station. The policemen recovered answer sheets from her bag, which said she had secured 2.5 out of 15 marks in the class test.
Reportedly, Col Lohit had hired the housemaid when he was working in Hyderabad, when the maid was just eight years-old. Even though this also happens to be a case of hiring of child labourer, the policemen seem to have overlooked the fact that a case has to be registered and such children should be given to the custody of the Child Welfare Committee till the case is decided, said committee member Geo D'Silva. Col Lohit came in a vehicle from Kochi overnight after being informed, and blamed the housemaid for wrongly influencing his daughter to leave home. He took away both the children to Kochi.