Eight-Year-Old Girl Wrongly Accused Of Theft Seeks Compensation Of Rs 50,00,000

A minor girl who was wrongly accused of theft earlier this year has filed a petition in Kerala High Court demanding the court to protect her basic fundamental right to live with human dignity.

As per a report by LiveLaw, the eight-year-old girl felt humiliated by the Pink Police when she was wrongly accused of stealing a mobile phone. The Civil Police Officer Rejitha was named in her petition. The girl has asked the State to take strict action against the officer for infringing her fundamental rights.

What is the case?: Eight-Year-Old Minor Moves Kerala High Court

The girl was waiting with her father to see the shipment of cargo containing machinery used for construction of a tunnel at the Vikram Sarabhi Space Center in Thiruvananthapuram. Like the duo many others were waiting for the shipment and the police force were deployed to control the crowd. The Pink Patrol squad was also present at the location. When the girl and her father went to a nearby shop to get some water to drink, a woman rushed to them asking about her lost phone. She accused them of stealing the phone from her.

When the girl and her father denied the allegation, the woman went on to humiliate the duo. The plea mentioned that the woman made 'coloured remarks and disparaging comments' against them.

The plea added, "The 4th respondent even went to assert that she saw the Petitioner and her father lifting the mobile from the front seat of the car. The Petitioner and her father were made fun of for their shabby appearance and body odour."

The girl also accused the Civil Police Officer of attempting to disrobe and her father in order to search them. She was also allegedly threatened with dire consequences that she would be taken to the police station for physical examination if the mobile phone is not found. Intimidated by this, the started to girl out loud and saw a huge crowd gathering around her. As per the report, the minor felt major mental agony because of it.

Soon a police constable recovered the phone from the woman's bag which was kept in the patrolling vehicle, as per the report. Since the girl belongs to a Scheduled Caste, the petition also added Sections 3(1)(x) of the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989. The minor reportedly could not sleep or attend her online classes for about two weeks.

The plea added, "Even the mere sight of Khaki uniform of even KSEB employees made the petitioner shiver with fear." The girl was then admitted to a mental health centre in September this year for counselling. The petitioner's father had also filed a complaint with the commission for SC and ST which found the Civil police officer, Rejitha's actions violative of the principal of natural justice. However, no action was taken the police on this regard.

The compensation:

The minor girl has asked the court to take strict action against the police officer with a declaration from her that her actions violated the fundamental rights of the minor. Apart from that, the girl has also sought a compensation of Rs 50,00,000.

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