Kendrapara, June 26: A five-year-old girl has been languishing in jail for three months now in violation of the Protection of Child Rights Act.

Her mother, 25-year-old Kanchan Maity, of Akhadasahi in Mahakalpada, was lodged at the Kendrapara sub-jail on March 27 in connection with a murder case. Her father, an accused in the same case, is absconding.

“Her mother was booked and 16 others were arrested on the charges of killing Naria Sethy. There was no one to take care of her. We were to forced to bring her to the jail with her mother’s consent. We have apprised the district child welfare committee of the situation,” Mahakalpada police station inspector Padarabinda Tripathy told The Telegraph.

Kanchan, who was produced in the court yesterday, said: “I do not want my daughter to grow up in a prison. I have told the jail officials to admit her to a school. But they did not do anything.”

Superintendent of the sub-jail Biren Sahoo said: “The girl was with her mother at the jail following a court order. We are taking special care of her. The jail has no school for kids.”

“The women and child development department and NGOs run boarding schools for prisoners’ children in Bhubaneswar and other places. The authorities should admit the child in a boarding school,” said Binayak Swain, a child rights activist.