The National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR), the apex body for child rights in the country, has demanded an inquiry into the activities of the Telangana Social Welfare Residential Educational Institutions Society (TSWREIS) and IPS officer RS Praveen Kumar, who is Secretary of the TSWREIS.
The NCPCR is a statutory body constituted under Section 3 of Commission for Protection of Child Rights Act, 2005. The body is entrusted with the protection, promotion and monitoring of child rights and other related matters.
In a letter dated 25 March, 2021 to the Chief Secretary, Government of Telangana, a copy of which is with The Commune, NCPCR Chairperson Priyank Kanoongo writes that the statutory body has received complaints regarding the running of the schools, hostels and other institutions managed by the TSWREIS.
The letter also states that Dr. RS Praveen Kumar, IPS is allegedly running the government organisation as if it were his own personal fiefdom. The bureaucrat was in the news recently for publicly taking a pledge that was demeaning and hurtful to the sentiments of the Hindu community. Incidentally, this pledge draws inspiration from the pledge taken by Dr. BR Ambedkar upon his conversion to Buddhism in 1956.
“The complainant has levelled serious allegations against Dr. R.S. Praveen Kumar, IPS, Secretary, TSWREIS wherein the complainant has stated that Dr. R.S. Praveen Kumar has built up a private society called SWAEROES within this Government organisation and that SWAEROES has evolved its own SWAEROES pledges, SWAEROES anthem, SWAEROES Guru Mantra which are being administered in TSWREIS schools/colleges”, the letter states.
“The complainant stated that there is constant day to day interference by SWAEROES volunteers in all aspects of the functioning of the state run, taxpayer funded TSWREIS schools, college and hostels and that due to the wide coverage in the media, an impression is sought to be created that it is SWAEROES that is running hundreds of educational institutions with its own funds, when the fact is that these institutions are being run by the State Government”, the letter adds.
Earlier, legal rights body Legal Rights Protection Forum (LRPF) and YSRCP MP Raghu Rama Krishna Raju had complained to the Centre regarding the functioning of the TSWREIS and SWAEROES, and demanded an inquiry into the matter.
Regarding alleged Christian evangelical activities in the institutions, the NCPCR writes, “The complainant further alleges that Christian religious preachers are being given free access to the children in the state run social welfare hostels and all these children, irrespective of their ancestral religious beliefs are forced to participate in Christian religious worship. He also alleges that holidays have been altered for Hindu festivals, preventing the children from travelling home during the Hindu festivals and that the children have complained to their parents about the same as well.”
The letter from the NCPCR states these allegations seriously jeopardise the rights and freedoms of children.
The Child Rights body has demanded an urgent investigation into these allegations brought against the TSWREIS, the controversial IPS officer RS Praveen Kumar and his private organaisation SWAEROES. The NCPCR has asked the Telangana government to inspect the schools, colleges, orphanages and hostels run by TSWREIS-SWAEROES and submit a report on its finings to the NCPCR within ten days.
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