Medical test confirms that Ayesha is a minor

[sajiv]

Medical test confirms that Ayesha is a minor

MANGALORE: Ayesha, the young domestic help, who was recently injured when she jumped from the balcony of an apartment allegedly to escape from her employer, is aged between 12 and 14 years, according to a recent medical examination conducted at the Government Wenlock Hospital.

The medical report, a copy of which was obtained on Thursday through an RTI application by The Hindu, stated: "The patient appears to be around 12 to 14 years of radiological age." The girl underwent a medical test conducted by the Labour Department which took suo-motu cognisance of the case on the orders of the Assistant Labour Commissioner Venkatesh A. Shindihatti.

It may be recalled that Ayesha, who is from Sirsi in Uttara Kannada district, fell from the balcony of an apartment in the fourth floor of Casa Grande Apartments, Attavara, on August 8. The fall had resulted in the dislocation of the girl's pelvic bone and injuries to the rest of her body.

The medical report could form an important evidence in the case which took several turns since the time it first surfaced over a month ago. Based on the medical report, the Labour Department has sent a notice to businessman Abdul Salam, who is alleged to have employed the girl as domestic help.
Birth date

In response to the notice, Mr. Salam produced a certificate from the Nehru Nagar Government School in Sirsi, Uttara Kannada district. The certificate claims that the girl studied in the school from class 1 to 5 and her date of birth is stated to be January 7, 1995, which makes her over 14 years.

To this, a labour official pointed out that as per Section 10 of the Child Labour (Prohibition and Regulation) Act, the decision regarding the age of a child will be taken purely based on medical reports.

The labour officials are also investigating the veracity of the school certificate, not only because it conflicts with the medical report but also because Ayesha in her recorded statement to the department said that she went to a different school.
Girl's statement

In her statement, Ayesha said that she studied only up to the fourth standard and not the fifth. Also, she said that she did her four years of schooling in the Ranebennur city of Haveri district, which raised more doubts about the certificate produced by Mr. Salam.

"The police inquest into this matter will undoubtedly touch upon the possibility of forgery," said a labour official on Thursday.

"In the pursuance of the principle of natural justice, we must give an accused a fair chance to respond to the charges against him, and that is why we sent him the notice. Now that we have done that, we will initiate criminal proceedings against him and file a complaint with the jurisdictional police station," Mr. Shindihatti told The Hindu.