Indian Police crackdown on child abuse welcomed

(April 28, 2010) Church people and human rights activists in India’s eastern Orissa State have welcomed a police clampdown on sex tourism in the coastal town of Puri. “We welcome it. But a circular alone would not end the menace,” Father Bijaya Pradhan, who heads the Child Commission of Cuttack-Bhubaneswar archdiocese, told UCA News April 25. Five days earlier, the Orissa state police asked some 200 hotels in Puri not to let minor boys stay in rooms with tourists, especially foreigners, and warned of stringent actions if they ignored the order.
Debasis Rath of the Childline of Child Welfare Committee, an NGO, laments that Puri has become “the hub of male-child abuses.” Puri town’s Jagnnath (the lord of the universe) Temple attracts thousands of tourists throughout the year. “Most tourists, who indulge in child abuse, are foreigners. Rath says proving child abuse is tough because victims do not file charges. He has urged the administration to closely monitor mushrooming health clubs, massage parlours and hostels. His group plans to launch a campaign against child abuse in these places.