24 Meghalaya children brought back from Karnataka reunited with families

Shillong, Dec 2 (PTI) Twenty-four children brought back from Karnataka’s Chikkaballapur district were on Tuesday reunited with their families in a repatriation exercise overseen by the Social Welfare Department

and the Meghalaya State Commission for Protection of Child Rights (SCPCR).

The children were formally received at the Directorate of Social Welfare here in the presence of departmental officials and representatives of child rights organisations.

SCPCR Chairperson Agatha Sangma said the “safe return of the children was the central focus” of the operation, and thanked authorities in both Karnataka and Meghalaya for their coordination.

Expressing concern over the growing instances of minors being taken out of the state without following due procedures, Sangma recalled a similar incident reported a few months ago.

She said the Commission had written to Chief Minister Conrad Sangma recommending a Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) for the movement of children below 18 years to institutions outside Meghalaya.

The proposed SOP would require prior intimation to District Child Protection Officers (DCPOs), proper documentation of children and the receiving institutions, verification of the institution’s legal status, clarity on the purpose and duration of the stay, mandatory medical examinations and direct communication between DCPOs of both states, she said.

Sangma also urged parents to remain vigilant, noting that many were unaware of the name or location of the institutions to which their children had been sent.

Social Welfare Director Camelia Doreen Lyngwa said the department was alerted to the case in August. Most of the children came from marginalised families whose parents had hoped for better educational opportunities outside the state, she said.

However, the Chikkaballapur DCPO found that the facility housing them was in poor condition and not registered with the Karnataka government, Lyngwa said, adding that technology played a key role in coordinating communication and ensuring their smooth return to Meghalaya. PTI JOP NN