APNA CRIME GHAR?

lIn 2014 alone there have been over 30 cases of damage to property, attempts to escape and actual escapes by convicts lThree escape attempts were made this month after the officials found that the roof tiles were dislodged from both the dormitories lAlleged gangster Zenito Cardozo connived with six caretakers of Apna Ghar to smuggle out boys l A police constable once found Zenito at the press conference
l Apna Ghar kids arrested for robberies, stealing vehicles and even abetting a murder
If ‘Apna Ghar’, which translates to ‘Our home’, is supposed to be the government remand cum shelter home for juveniles , brushing with law, it has a pretty sordid charge-sheet that defies its purpose. Criminals connive with caretakers of the home to smuggle out children who commit robberies, caretakers take back stolen goods for themselves and anarchy and chaos are the rule rather than exception as clashes between the inmates and staff or the police are frequent.
In less than 24 hours of creating beating up two constables six juvenile inmates – three boys and three girls, escaped from the premises early Saturday morning.   
The fact that Apna Ghar was once embroiled in controversy in the juveniles smuggling episode, has officially been pointed out in a State government inquiry and police investigation. The one-man inquiry committee had indicted six caretakers for conniving with alleged gangster Zenito Cardozo to smuggle the inmates outside campus. A constable, Datta Vernekar was too found having links with Zenito after he was caught accompanying the latter during a press conference.  The police department however turned a blind eye by merely transferring him from Agassaim to a South Goa police station instead of initiating action against him.
The children, who were exposed to the crime world, were thereafter arrested by the police for robberies, stealing vehicles and its spare parts and one of them was also charged with abetting a murder. The gangster along with a suspended caretaker Videsh Mandrekar was arrested by the then Porvorim police only to be bailed out later.  
In the recent past, at least a dozen tube lights have been broken by the children, windows’ grills bent and its glasses smashed, doors wrecked and even chairs and tables meeting its fate.
Officials confirm that one of the 16 boys, had earlier hit three tube lights on his head while in another incident, three girl inmates drilled a hole in the dormitory wall to escape using a sharp tool. On Thursday, some boys virtually made a hole in the 15 meter long fence in a failed attempt to escape.
The escape of six inmates on Saturday incidentally coincides with the high court granting bail to Zenito in the LPK Waterfront case where a gang of motorcycle borne gangsters severaly damaged the popular nightclub.  He walked out of the jail on Thursday after complying by the conditions for bail.
The children are brought out of their dormitories from 9am-5pm for various recreational activities, on verbal instructions of the department head. Deputy Director (administration) Dashrat Redkar said the children however refuse to go back to their dormitories and the officials are helpless as any act against the child, attracts punishment. Their tantrums are difficult to handle.
The Friday’s escape has some links with the retaliation reported a day earlier as these were the same inmates who were demanding their release. The 17-year-old boy who threatened the women and child department officials to jump from the second floor roof at Apna Ghar and hurl roof tiles on them was among the escapees. Another inmate, whose repatriation order to his native state Uttar Pradesh was ordered earlier this week had also joined the group.
Similarly, one of the three escaped girls, having suicidal tendency has a history of escaping as she has been lodged to the Home at least three times before. While a resident of Guirim, another minor girl inmate escaped while her repatriation papers to Maharashtra was being readied by the authorities.
The department is also trying to trouble shoot problem which arise after the parents refuse to take their children either due to poor financial conditions or the juvenile’s violent nature.  
The director also revealed that at least three escape attempts were made this month after the officials found that the roof tiles were dislodged from both the dormitories. “The children use bed sheets as rope to climb down,” he said.