KARACHI, Dec 12: Sindh Minister for Law, Justice Abdul Rehman has directed the provincial police chief to ensure that no juvenile offender is placed at police lockup at any point of time.

Speaking at the launching ceremony of the report on Situation Analysis on Juvenile Justice in Sindh here on Wednesday, the minister reminded that keeping child culprit along with adults and professional criminals is against the state law.

“Under the given situation arrested juvenile be released without any unnecessary delay on payroll and sent either along with their parents or any reliable individual”, the minister stressed.

An ordinance issued in the year 2000 by the present regime already seeks segregation between juvenile and adult prisoners, he said, adding the same also holds provision for separate courts for adolescent offenders.

According to him, providing juvenile prisoners a home-like and congenial atmosphere is also a legal right of children who often owing to circumstances may get trapped into criminal activities and ultimately be apprehended.

Justice Abdul Rehman said the government was fully conscious of its responsibilities towards child inmates of local prisons, formally termed as Correcting Schools for Juvenile Prisoners.

With reference to varied problems highlighted regarding the said schools and plight of child inmates, the minister assured of early and meaningful intervention on part of the provincial law department.

Kanwal Sindhi presenting the study report mentioned that some 1,240 juveniles are currently imprisoned in 12 different jails of the province. Of whom 291 have been convicted while court proceedings against 936 are under way.— APP