Goa Police not securing safety of vulnerable children at Goa fair: State panel

Panaji, Jan 23 (IANS) The Goa State Commission for Protection of Child Rights on Wednesday said the state police were not cooperating with the Commission's efforts to secure the safety of around 50 vulnerable and impoverished children who were begging, selling trinkets at one of state's most popular fairs and were vulnerable to abuse and kidnapping.

In a statement, Commission chairperson Sushma Mandrekar said that if the police failed to save the children, who may be kidnapped and forced into illegal activities, it would "malign the image of Shree Dev Bodgeshwar fair", which is held at Mapusa town in North Goa every year.

"In spite of all our efforts, we are not getting enough cooperation from police personnel," Mandrekar said.

In a letter to the temple committee of the Shree Dev Bodgeshwar and the Director General of Police Muktesh Chander, Mandrekar said there were at least 50 unaccompanied children at the fair, who were vulnerable.

The three-day fair held at the grounds of the Shree Bodgeshway temple is one of the most popular fairs in the state and attracts thousands of visitors.