PANJIM: In view of the order of the High Court of Bombay at Goa imposing penalty on a police inspector and sub-inspector for ‘parading’ a woman before the journalists, the Directorate of Women & Child Development is soon to direct the Child Welfare Committee to ensure compliance.
The Division Bench of Justices Mahesh Sonak and Nutan Sardessai on Tuesday slapped penalty of Rs 30,000 on PI Kapil Nayak and Rs 10,000 on PSI Amin Naik for “parading” the woman, who was arrested for abandoning her new born third child at Mapusa in August. In the 37-page order, the court has asked the WCD to coordinate with the two policemen so as to ensure that the accused mother receives the compensation amount within four weeks from the date of the order.
“We are aware of the High Court order passed on Tuesday. The CWC will be asked to handle the matter and make sure the accused woman is paid the amount within the time frame set by the bench,” a department official told Herald.
The court had taken suo motu cognisance of a news report published in a vernacular daily along with a photograph of the mother after her arrest for abandoning her newborn. The court pulled up the investigation team for parading the woman before the print and electronic media like a trophy.
The order further states that if the policemen fail to pay the compensation, the government should do so within two weeks thereafter and then recover the amount from the salary of PI Nayak and PSI Naik by December 31, 2019.
Tightening noose around the men-in-khaki, the court has also asked the government to issue guidelines for interaction between the police officials and the media and if necessary by making suitable modification to the proposed guidelines tendered in the course of these proceedings. The time frame set for completing the process is six weeks with compliance report into all the directions is asked to be filed by January 6, 2020. An order already exists that officers below the rank of Superintendent of Police are not allowed to interact with the media.
