Days after National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR) team conducted a surprise inspection at a muslim orphanage in KB Sandra on Sunday, November 19, 2023, an FIR has been registered against Priyank Kanoongo, NCPCR chief and his team for allegedly trespassing into an orphanage , videographing the premises and put out a post on his social media account accusing the institute of being illegal and comparing the condition of the inmates with medieval Taliban life.
Based on the complaint filed by Darul Uloom Sayideeya orphanage secretary, Ashraf Khan, the jurisdictional DJ Halli police charged Kanoongo and his associates under sections 34 (acts done by several persons in furtherance of common intention), 447 (criminal trespass), 448 (house trespass), and 295A (deliberate and malicious acts, intended to outrage religious feelings of any class by insulting its religion or religious beliefs) of the Indian Penal Code on Tuesday .
In the complaint, Mr. Khan alleged that Kanoongo visited the orphanage without prior permission and also compared the living condition there with life under the Taliban rule.
‘Orphanage running without licence’
Reacting to the FIR, Kanoongo said that the orphanage was running without license and the condition of the children studying there was not good. The children were not allowed to go to school and were made to stay in a congested room, he said. He also said that he had issued a notice to the Chief Secretary of the government of Karnataka to take legal action. “Instead, the government of Karnataka filed a case against me for highlighting the plight of the children,” he said .
Similar inspection was conducted at a Christian run institute in Davanagere by Kanoongo and his team where he accused the management of promoting Christianity and serving beef to the children even though a majority of them belong to the Hindu community .
