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[BANGALORE, 21 December 2010] - The Karnataka State Commission for Protection of Child Rights (KSCPCR) visited the premises of a child care Trust, following reports of the death of a 14-year-old boy at a farm in Chittoor, Andhra Pradesh, owned by the Trust. The boy, Chandru, an inmate of Karunya Community Development Ministry Trust (KCDMT) at RBI Colony in Ganganagar, was reported to have committed suicide at the farm in Chittoor, where he had been sent by the Trust. KSCPCR Chairperson, Nina Nayak, said that the boy’s parents, Valli and Arogya Das, told them that the owners of the Trust, Suresh and Latha, had informed them that Chandru was a slow learner and would benefit from a vocational training programme they were conducting in Chittoor. Suresh and Latha also promised to take care of his boarding, lodging and training expenses. Chandru was sent in November 2009 and the parents were allowed to speak to him over the phone regularly. Later, Chandru’s parents came to know that he was being made to work in a farm and was abused physically, if he did not obey. On December 19, they were told to take a bus to Chittoor to look after Chandru, as he had developed stomach pains. When they reached Chittoor, they were told that Chandru was dead. Chandru’s parents brought the body to Bangalore and kept it in front of the Trust premises, as a mark of protest, since they suspected foul play. Nina Nayak said that the Chittoor police had said that an FIR had been registered and the post-mortem was conducted. It was reported that the child had died due to strangulation. KSCPCR has established that Suresh and Latha used to convince parents from the Bhuvaneshwari slum, near to the Trust, to send their children for ‘tuition’ and then make them work in the spacious house where the Trust is located. Also, the parents of 13 children, aged 6-7 years, were told to send their children to Chittoor. The parents were promised that their children would be given English classes. KSCPCR has recommended that the Hebbal police take up the matter and the Women and Child Development Department trace the children in Chittoor. Suresh and Latha have absconded. Further Information: More on child labour. More on child rights in India.