Overcrowded Tiruvannamalai kids home closed

Kandasamy, who interacted with the inmates, came to know that it housed 14 girls even though the home had official permission to accommodate only nine girls. Similarly, in a building on a nearby street, 15 boys had been accomodated.

The Collector immediately ordered the home to be closed and announced an inquiry into how and why these children were kept in the constricted space. Kandasamy said the children would all be moved to another officially recognised children’s home at Perumbakkam.

He later added that 17 of 31 of these children’s homes in the district had been inspected while others are under inspection. But Kandasamy was more interested in a case that involved the killing of a newborn girl child by a couple who already had two girls. Police said that Venda (28) of Pachur village in Chengam taluk was admitted to the Tiruvannamalai government hospital on May 24 for delivery. She left the hospital with her husband Sivakumar (35) two days later without any notice.

Pachur VHN (village health nurse) Bakyalakshmi, was informed that the infant died on reaching home. Suspecting something amiss, she questioned the couple who finally admitted to having burnt her body in their own fields. A complaint was lodged and Sivakumar was arrested.