JOIN USMan forces daughter to beg in Mysore
A 13-year-old girl - who was allegedly forced into begging by her father as punishment for not taking studies seriously - was rescued by the alert public in the city on Monday.
The girl’s father, who was arrested under the Juvenile Justice Act, was produced before a court on Tuesday and was released on bail.
The girl, studying in class VII at a private institution, woke up late in the morning, only to invite the wrath of her father Prakash alias Prabhu. As her exams were on, he let her attend them. Shock was in store for the girl when she returned home.
Prakash allegedly took his daughter to Chandramouleshwara Swamy Temple in V V Mohalla and gave her a plate to seek alms in front of the temple.
While Prakash sat inside the car parked opposite the temple, along with his friend Asha, the girl in her school uniform was seeking alms from visitors. A passerby enquired with the girl, only to learn about the punishment. It did not take much time for the news about the incident to spread and the aggrieved locals besieged Prakash sitting in the car.
Taken to task
They took him and the woman to task and stoned the car, damaging the windscreen. They later took the duo to Jayalakshmipuram police station.
Prakash, who seemed unmoved, defended himself, saying he had no other option but to reprimand his daughter for not taking her studies seriously. However, he denied having given her a plate to beg. Though he claimed to be a coffee planter from Somwarpet in Kodagu district, he is said to be working as a senior lab technician under contract basis in K R Hospital.
Earlier, when she had shown disinterest in studies, Prakash is learnt to have scolded and beaten her, police sources said.
Varied versions
There are different versions about his wife, the girl’s mother. According to him and also the girl, she died when the latter was one year old. According to their relatives, the girl’s mother went missing.
Following a complaint from Varsha of Credit I, an NGO, Prakash was booked under Section 24(1) of Juvenile Justice Act, while Asha was booked under Section 2.
Asha was released on station bail on Monday night, while Prakash was produced before the Second Judicial Magistrate First Class Court on Tuesday.
He was released on personal surety, said police sources. If the charges are proved under Section 24(1), the guilty will be awarded three years’ jail term and one year jail term under Section 2.
In custody
The girl is in the custody of the Child Welfare Committee and has been sent to the Juvenile Girls Home on Lalita Mahal Road, chairman of the Committee N T Venkatesh told Deccan Herald.