The high court, on Tuesday, issued summons to the superintendent of Dongri Children's Remand Home asking him to be present in the court on Wednesday along with papers pertaining to a minor girl who was lodged there.
The summons was issued by a division bench of justices NH Patil and Abhay Thipsay while hearing a habeas corpus (produce person in court) petition filed by 45-year-old Mohammed Sadique Mohammed Zuber Shaikh, whose daughter had been sent to the remand home by the police.
The father alleged that Govandi police had registered a false case against his wife and daughter contending that the duo had escaped to Surat in Gujarat where "they were being forced into prostitution by him".
The minor girl was detained by the police in the late hours on March 6 and later sent to the remand home. The petitioner has alleged that after sending the girl to the remand home, the police demanded money from him to let her off the hook.
Petitioner's counsel Amin Solkar said the police had forced the girl to give a statement against her father, and that the case attracted provisions of the Juvenile Justice (care and protection of children) Act.
He urged the court to find out what she had to say on the allegations by the police that she was being pushed into flesh trade by her father.
The judges asked the prosecution why no action had been taken by the police on the statement made by the girl. Additional public prosecutor Aruna Kamath-Pai then said the girl had changed her statement when produced before the committee of the remand home.
According to the petitioner, his daughter had been unlawfully detained in the police station on March 6, and he wasn't aware of the reason for it. He also alleged that the police had recorded her statement while she was in custody.
The hearing will resume on Wednesday.
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