The detained teens of Juvenile Observation Home. (Below) Injured head guard Bijay Kumar Sahu at hospital. Picture by Gopal Krishna Reddy

Berhampur, Sept. 22: Seven of the 10 inmates of Juvenile Observation Home, who had managed to escape after attacking the head guard on Tuesday night, were detained within hours.

Head guard Bijoy Kumar Sahu, who had sustained injuries on his head and legs, was hospitalised. The seven boys, belonging to the age group of 16 to 18 years, were being interrogated by the police. The teenagers beat up the guard with cricket bat and stumps.

Sahu said: “Five of them entered my room when I was sleeping and suddenly attacked me. They snatched away keys of the main gate and fled away.”

Sahu immediately alerted superintendent of the home Heman Kar who in turn informed the B N Pur Police. “We caught seven of them while they were on their way to bus stand and are looking for the remaining three,” said police station in-charge Dipak Mishra.

The boys, who had been lodged at the police station, alleged that they were being “physically tortured by guards. The quantity of food given to us is always insufficient. In morning, suji with sugar are served as breakfast and for lunch, we are given dal and potato curry. Whenever we complain, we get beatings. Sometimes guards beat us for no reason.” One of the boys said: “Many of them work as orderlies of the guards in their houses during night hours. We had complained to the superintendent about these incidents but no action was taken. If confronted, they resort to torture us. We, therefore, decided to attack the guards with stumps and run away from the home,” they said.

However, refuting the charges Kar said: “The inmates were never tortured. We provide them with sufficient food.”

Though the capacity of the Juvenile Observation Home at Berhampur is 50, the number of inmates there is 88. “The home, which consists of two cells, is too small for so many inmates,” said a social activist.

“Construction of a new building for the juvenile home was completed in 1991 at a cost of Rs 20 lakh and the public works department handed over the building to the department of women and child development. The new building is situated near the residence of the DIG of police southern range. However, the inmates are yet to be shifted there,” the social activist said.

She also criticised authority for not conducting Juvenile Board meetings at regular intervals under the provision of Juvenile Justice Act (JJA).