ITANAGAR, Sep 19: Members of the Itanagar Child Welfare Committee (CWC) have met two of the three school students who were beaten up and paraded in the Kimin market on 16 September with their hands tied behind their backs.
Bamang Jacob and Bamang Sonio have been identified as the persons who beat up the students and tied them up, after windowpanes of one Lovely restaurant had been broken, following an altercation, on the night of 15 September.
Cases have been registered against the two at the Kimin police station under various sections of the Indian Penal Code and the Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection) Act, 2015.
CWC Chairperson Kani Nada Maling expressed strong exception to the violence committed on the children, stating that “the public should not take the law unto their hands as there are laws to deal with children who are in conflict with the law.”
Citing the Juvenile Justice (JJ) Act, she said such violence against children “is gross violation of child rights, and every child has the right to live with dignity.”
She further expressed exception to the fact that the children had been sold liquor at the restaurant, saying it’s a crime to sell liquor to children, as per the JJ Act.
The CWC members visited Kimin after one of the boys’ father approached the committee, seeking action against Sonio for beating up his son, tying up his hands, and parading him the market after dragging him out of his school.
She also appealed to the public not to publish photos of the children on social media.
“People should refrain from publishing the photos of children on social media, as it will have long-term effects on the psycho-social development of the child,” she said.
Besides Maling, the CWC team comprised Papum Pare Child Protection Officer Techi Ayum, counsellor Nabam Bapu, and Childline Itanagar member Lakpha Pansa.
Later, the CWC team met the Papum Pare police team, which included SP Jimmi Chiram, Balijan SDPO Kamdam Sikom, and Doimukh PS Inspector B Tangzang.
