By Zaidul Haque, TwoCircles.net,
Kolkata/Bangaon: Thanks to negligence of over 10 months by West Bengal police, an 11-year-old girl from Maharashtra continues to remain at the juvenile home in West Bengal even as her mother is running from pillar to post to seek her release.
Parvin Qasim Sheikh has urged the Additional Chief Sub judicial magistrate at Bangaon to release her daughter but the state police have not submitted the report about her daughter. This has prevented the court from handing over her daughter to Sheikh.
Police, in turn, are claiming Parvin Sheikh is not the mother of the 11-year-old. However, Sheikh’s lawyer has produced all the relevant documents – Sheikh’s Aadhar card, Voter ID card, Health card, Ration card, Electric bill along with the girl’s annual school progress report, the girl’s Aadhar card and her husband’s death certificate (he had died in 2012) etc. to the court.
Parvin Qasim Sheikh – mother of 11 year old girl
Sheikh told Twocircles.net that she is a resident of Vanikaran Gate area, Mankhurd in Mumbai (Maharashtra). In June 2014, she and her daughter had come to meet her relatives at Baduria of North 24 Parganas district.
“But unfortunately my daughter could not get down with me at Machlandapur railway station. Totally unknown to the area, weakness of not the knowing local language (Bengali) only added to the problems,” she said.
Sheikh searched for her daughter but failed. Finally, she reached her relatives’ house. The very next day, she contacted Bangaon Railway station with her relatives. There she came to know that her daughter was indeed under police custody in Bangaon Police station. Sheikh immediately reached the police station and requested the officers to hand over her daughter.
Police, however, declined to let Sheikh meet her daughter. She approached the Bangaon Sub Judicial Court, which sent her daughter to Liluah Juvenile home.
Sheikh’s daughter studies in class six at a Mumbai school. But after 10 months, because she has been staying at the Juvenile Home, she could not give her final examination.
Sheikh stays in Mumbai and maintains her family working as domestic aid. Her son Mamun Qasim Sheikh is also studying in class six in the same municipal school where his sister studies.
She faces financial problems every time she has to travel from Mumbai to attend the hearing at Bangaon court. She also has problems paying her lawyer Shafiul Alam but he has been fighting the case without any remuneration.
A few days ago, when Sheikh appeared before the court yet again, the police had produced her daughter in front of the judge. Both mother and the daughter cried even as she appealed fervently to the judge to be re-united with her daughter. “But the West Bengal police said they need Maharashtra government’s certificate to prove that I am indeed her mother,” she said.
Informing the Magistrate that she had submitted all relevant documentary evidences, Sheikh appealed to the court that if needed, the court may arrange for a DNA test but not further deprive her daughter’s return to the family.
“Police had filed a case about the girl vide Bongaon police station (Case number 538/14 u/s 14 Foreigners Act (GR-1485/14 at ACJM Bongaon Court). We requested several times to the police to relieve her and hand her over to her mother. But police always said, to release her from the Juvenile Home, they need other formalities but did not specify which formalities,” lawyer Alam told TCN and added, “The West Bengal police is now trying to allege that Sheikh’s daughter was rescued from a girls’ trafficking chain. So, it is not easy to release her, police claimed.”
Further alleging that it is a conspiracy by the police, Alam said, “It is known that so many rescued trafficking girls are staying in the Lilua Home. Many times, the Home workers have raped the boarders. So we are anxious about our child.”
A police officer from Bangaon Police station said: “Girls were being carried for trafficking. We rescued her and sent her to the court. We have nothing to do now.”
Adhar Card of Parvin Qasim Sheikh
Sheikh said she repeatedly requested the Suparna Chowdhury, the Bangaon Magistrate, to return her girl but she said, the court had sent reminders to Bangaon police station to send the report but the police had not submitted any report. “Without getting the police report, we cannot release the girl,” the Magistrate had told her.
Sheikh then tried to meet higher level district police officials but to no avail. She returned to Mumbai on Friday night. She blames it on her “own mistake” that her daughter is living in a juvenile home and facing uncertain circumstance.
Parvin Qasim Sheikh can be reached at 09867800301 while Shafiul Alam, her lawyer in West Bengal, can be reached at 09735709703.