Parents bringing their disturbed children to NIP were not free from mental disorders either. It took Pathak seven sessions to help them overcome psychological disorders. [break]
“Parents and children share very volatile relations. When children get caught doing mischief it hurts their self-esteem,” said Pathak. “And loss of self-esteem can cost children dearly.”
Kathmandu Police, which got into the moral policing act by arresting around 300 teenagers in school uniforms before handing them over to guardians, however, is not aware about the impact of arrest on children.
The police employed the same approach while raiding the same disco on Saturday. A total of 50 teenagers, all reportedly below 16 years, were detained and handed over to the guardians after making them undergo police screening.
The raid comes at a time when SP Kedar Rijal has just taken charge of the Metropolitan Police Range Kathmandu (MPRK). Discos and bars, that remain largely unregulated, often become easy targets for the Kathmandu Police when it is required to show activism.
This trend, however, does not seem to work well when it comes to children and teenagers. “Children and teenagers are usually vulnerable to mistakes like this,” Pathak said. “These are corrigible mistakes. The youngsters should be made to feel that they can correct their mistakes.”
Pathak pointed out to the practice in some countries of sending counselors with the raid teams to deal with juveniles properly. “This approach helps children avert deep psychological trauma,” she said.
Police on Saturday had only chosen to pick up teenagers under 16 years while leaving the adult ones. “Discos are not allowed to let under-16 teenagers in,” said Inspector Kavit Katuwal, chief of Metropolitan Police Sector, New Road that carried out the raid at Babylon disco. The disco is owned by Subash Limbu and Ram Shrestha. MPRK had lodged a public offence charge against Limbu last year.
The Metropolitan Police Sector, New Road witnessed a moving scene when parents flocked the police office to take charge of their children. A middle-aged woman was crying while police handed over her 14-year-old daughter.
“She left home this morning saying she had to meet her friend. She had worn kurta-suruwal. I am really shocked to see her in this scanty dress,” said the woman, who identified herself as a fast-food vendor.
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