A day after he escaped from Snehalaya, a vocational and training centre for street children in Maloya, Vinod says he does not to return to the centre.

The 12-year-old, who is said to be addicted to tobacco, had stayed in the centre only for two days before he decided to make a daring escape. Meanwhile, Home Secretary Ram Niwas inspected and interacted with the children at the Centre on Saturday.

Vinod claims: “The other boys in the centre used to beat me up. We were not given enough food to eat and there was not much to do. I did not like it there.” At present, he is living with his parents in Bapu Dham.

Vinod reportedly escaped from the centre under the garb of visiting the toilet. There are seven children apart from him who were initially being looked after by an NGO, Good Beginnings, and were admitted to the Centre on March 17. Vardhan, the head of the NGO has got them back after Vinod escaped.

When Newsline met the children, two of them wanted to go back to the centre. Jyoti said: “I want to go back. We used to play and have fun. The teacher was very nice. I enjoyed and want to go and study there.”

Some, however, did not like the restrictions imposed on them and complained of “less food” being given.

Vardhan says, “We took the children out as the officials at the training centre refused to take responsibility if the children escaped. It is a security lapse and adequate staff is not present to look after the children. Also, there are not too many activities to keep the children occupied.”

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