Publicise helpline number 1098 to deal with child begging: Delhi HC

The Delhi High Court on Tuesday asked the authorities to publicise child helpline number 1098 to deal with instances of begging by children in the national capitalA bench headed by Acting Chief Justice Manmohan while dealing with a PIL against child begging was informed by the Delhi government that any person can report such an incident on the helpline and a mechanism has been created to then counsel and send the child to either their parental home or a child care institutionThe court closed the PIL after taking on record the stand of the authorities and asked the Delhi government to file an affidavit showing compliance after eight weeksThe writ petition is disposed ofRespondents are directed to ensure publicity is given to the child helpline number 1098 the bench also comprising Justice Tushar Rao Gedela orderedRepresented by standing counsel Santosh Kumar Tripathi the Delhi government assured the court that the mechanism is in place to ensure timely response to incidents of begging by childrenHe said steps are also being taken to identify outofschool children and ensure that they are admitted to schoolsThe government which was also represented by lawyer Arun Panwar stated the Delhi Police also take action whenever information is received with respect to violation of rights of childrenIn its status report the Delhi government said its Department of Women and Child Development plays a crucial role in combating child begging through its District Child Protection Units which are tasked with identifying and rehabilitating vulnerable children involved in beggingIt said comprehensive awareness programmes are carried out in collaboration with field agencies like Aaganwadi police and NGOs to educate communities about the risks and consequences of child begging and encourage reporting of the sameA Standard Operating Procedure for Care and Protection of Children in Street Situations as framed by the National Commission for Protection of Child Rights is already in place and efforts are made to give the rescued children access to education including vocational training added the latest status report filed in the matterThe report further said counselling services are also provided to support the emotional and psychological wellbeing of these children as they undergo the process of rehabilitation and integration into mainstream societyPetitioner Ajay Gautam had filed the PIL in 2021 seeking eradication of begging by children The high court had earlier issued notices to the Centre Delhi government and the Delhi Commission for Protection of Child Rights DCPCR on the pleaThe petitioner had sought directions to authorities to rehabilitate children involved in begging and to identify and arrest those who are ldquopushing women using toddlers teenage girls and small children into begging and crimerdquo and exploiting young girlsIn his plea Gautam alleged that in spite of the presence of beggars in every part of the city the authorities had failed to take any remedial steps to curb the menace PTI ADS ADS SK SKThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever