The three-year old, physically challenged, Gulab's is a heart
wrenching story. Most of his introduction comes through the Government
Railway Police (GRP). Though he has a family, his parents refuse to take
him back home, saying the government home can give the child a better
life.
His ordeal, infact, speaks for ten other physically
challenged children at the centre, some of whom have parents but are
growing up without parental love and care. Blame it on their physical
disability.
Gulab was rescued by the police from a kidnapper at Sultanpur station
in June. And brought to his present home, a government centre for
children below ten years of age in Lucknow.
At the government home, efforts to strike a conversation with the boy did not yield much. "He has a speech disorder", said the caretaker Manju Verma. Though the sight of the camera was enough to amuse him, his brief smile and glint in the eyes did not last long.
The boy, said the caretaker, has a poor comprehension. He can not even tell his name, forget the whereabouts. According to GRP, he was rescued from a kidnapper on June 23 from Sadbhawna Express. The child was wailing and the man was not doing anything to console him.
"The policemen found the man's behaviour suspicious. He said he will put the boy to begging," said a GRP officer at Charbagh. The police, after rescuing the boy, presented him before the child welfare committee, which, in turn, directed the police to hand him over to the government shelter in Lucknow.
While the police records mention the boy as Gulab, at the government centre he has been renamed Anuj. The GRP records say the boy belongs to a family of a nomadic tribe in Rajasthan. The family got traced after they registered a case of 'missing' boy at a police station in Alwar.
"The maternal grandmother with one of the relatives had visited the centre in July," said caretaker Verma. The boy lunged at the woman with happiness. The report that the caretaker submitted to the authorities mentioned about the boy's playfulness with his grandmother, and the fact that his behaviour proved he was familiar with the woman.
But, it's the same woman, now, who has refused to take the child back.
The railway magistrate's order asked the police to produce the child and the family on July 31 and had also directed for the DNA analysis to make sure that the woman was the biological custodian of the child. However, since then the woman is untraceable.
"The other contact numbers provided by her also do not answer the call," said the caretaker. She said that since my child is getting a better life at this centre I do not want to take him back, the caretaker added. "Though the woman came here quite a few times, she was not ready for DNA analysis and said she should better leave the boy at the centre," said the GRP officer.
What turned the woman away, though, is not known, it has added to the plight of the three-year old. He keeps to his own and even the center is finding it tough to handle the physically challenged boy. Surprisingly he is not alone. The centre has 15 children, ten out of whom are physically challenged.
At the government home, efforts to strike a conversation with the boy did not yield much. "He has a speech disorder", said the caretaker Manju Verma. Though the sight of the camera was enough to amuse him, his brief smile and glint in the eyes did not last long.
The boy, said the caretaker, has a poor comprehension. He can not even tell his name, forget the whereabouts. According to GRP, he was rescued from a kidnapper on June 23 from Sadbhawna Express. The child was wailing and the man was not doing anything to console him.
"The policemen found the man's behaviour suspicious. He said he will put the boy to begging," said a GRP officer at Charbagh. The police, after rescuing the boy, presented him before the child welfare committee, which, in turn, directed the police to hand him over to the government shelter in Lucknow.
While the police records mention the boy as Gulab, at the government centre he has been renamed Anuj. The GRP records say the boy belongs to a family of a nomadic tribe in Rajasthan. The family got traced after they registered a case of 'missing' boy at a police station in Alwar.
"The maternal grandmother with one of the relatives had visited the centre in July," said caretaker Verma. The boy lunged at the woman with happiness. The report that the caretaker submitted to the authorities mentioned about the boy's playfulness with his grandmother, and the fact that his behaviour proved he was familiar with the woman.
But, it's the same woman, now, who has refused to take the child back.
The railway magistrate's order asked the police to produce the child and the family on July 31 and had also directed for the DNA analysis to make sure that the woman was the biological custodian of the child. However, since then the woman is untraceable.
"The other contact numbers provided by her also do not answer the call," said the caretaker. She said that since my child is getting a better life at this centre I do not want to take him back, the caretaker added. "Though the woman came here quite a few times, she was not ready for DNA analysis and said she should better leave the boy at the centre," said the GRP officer.
What turned the woman away, though, is not known, it has added to the plight of the three-year old. He keeps to his own and even the center is finding it tough to handle the physically challenged boy. Surprisingly he is not alone. The centre has 15 children, ten out of whom are physically challenged.
Some of them have parents, who come to visit them at the centre, but do
not turn up again when asked to take their children back.
The centre is meant to bring up children who have lost their parents or are in distress. Not for the ones who have been deliberately left behind by their parents and family. But can someone make such parents accountable towards their children.
Source : TOI , 15th September 2013
The centre is meant to bring up children who have lost their parents or are in distress. Not for the ones who have been deliberately left behind by their parents and family. But can someone make such parents accountable towards their children.
Source : TOI , 15th September 2013
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