The National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR) chief, Priyank Kanoongo, has alleged that he was beaten and manhandled by a police official in southern Kolkata, West Bengal on Friday.
Police official Biswak Mukherjee beat him up at Tiljala police station where a team of NCPCR had gone in connection with its investigation into the murder of a seven-year-old girl, he alleged.
Kanoongo said that he was assaulted when he protested the surreptitious recording of the team proceedings by the police officer.
The girl was found dead at the flat of accused Alok Kumar Shah with her body packed inside a sack.
The NCPCR team, including Kanoongo and four other members, visited West Bengal on Friday to investigate the murder case and a gang-rape incident with the Class 6 girl by outsiders during school hours inside a government school in Malda.
However, the team received inputs of a “security breach” during their visit, and they wrote to the state chief secretary, home secretary, and DGP. The NCPCR requested the state administration to ensure adequate security and administrative arrangements for the smooth conduct of the visit.
In response to the incident, the NCPCR proposed a fact-finding inquiry into the matter by a team led by its chairperson. The West Bengal Commission for Protection of Child Rights Chairperson also visited the Tiljala incident spot and met with the family members. The state team took immediate cognizance in both cases, and the WBCPCR received the first Action Taken Report from Malda.
The New Indian has accessed a letter written by the West Bengal Commission for Protection of Child Rights chairperson Sudeshna Roy, in which she expressed disappointment that the NCPCR had not informed or taken them into confidence regarding their intervention in cases where the state commission had already intervened.
The NCPCR plays a crucial role in protecting child rights in the country.