Andhra High Court Demands Reports on Rescue of Pregnant Minor; Police Suspended in POCSO Escape
The Juvenile Justice Committee (JJC) of the Andhra Pradesh High Court has directed the NTR Commissionerate police and the Krishna district Child Welfare Committee (CWC) to submit reports on the rescue of a pregnant minor girl in NTR district.
The JJC took suo motu cognisance of a news report published on July 20, which detailed the rescue of a 14-year-old pregnant girl from Tatakuntla village in Vissannapet mandal. The committee has ordered the CWC Chairperson and police authorities to file separate reports by July 27, and to appear before it on July 29 in the High Court with all relevant records for discussion.
In a separate incident, two police personnel—head constable Sitaramulu and constable Prasad—attached to the Nandigama police station in the NTR Commissionerate, were suspended after an accused in a Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act case escaped from custody.
According to police, the two personnel had taken Lingaraju, a native of Tavalakuntla village in Markapuram mandal, into custody on July 19 for allegedly harassing a minor girl on social media. The accused escaped while being escorted from Nandigama, said Nandigama Assistant Commissioner of Police Chalasani Srinivas.
The police later re-arrested Lingaraju and produced him before a court, which remanded him to judicial custody.
