Dhenkanal: Following allegations of alleged sexual abuse of minor girls in a shelter home in Dhenkanal by its in-charge, state government Saturday ordered closure of all shelter homes operated by Good News India across the state.
Speaking to reporters here, Women and Child Development Minister Prafulla Samal said the shelter home was operating illegally and all district collectors have been instructed to initiate steps to close down all shelter homes operated by the ‘tainted’ organisation.
“The organisation has not been granted any permission. They are running the shelter homes illegally. We have repeatedly asked these people to register their shelter homes under the Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act, but they never do so,” Samal said.
The minister said stringent action would be taken against the outfit. Some persons operating the shelter home have been arrested and the remaining officials would be nabbed soon, Samal said.
He said 62 inmates of the shelter home will be transferred to the nearest child care home or they would be handed over to their parents.
Stating that the shelter home has some 22 to 26 branches all over Odisha, Samal said concerned district collectors have been instructed to investigate with the help of police and shut down all erring homes. The officials have also been directed to shift the inmates of such shelter homes to other institutions, he pointed out.
The Minister also indicated that a number of unauthorized shelter homes might be operating in many places including towns like Bhubaneswar.
“As children were staying there, we have instructed officials from Odisha State Commission for Protection of Child Rights, Child Welfare Committees and our department to unearth unregistered shelter homes with the help of police. They would visit various blocks and inform the authorities about unregistered shelter homes,” he added.
The incident came to light when some of the girls while speaking to the media had accused the home in-charge, the police said.
The girls had alleged that shelter in-charge Simanchal Nayak and the NZO head Faiz Rehman, had been touching them inappropriately besides torturing them mentally and physically for past two years and they did not tell anyone about it out of fear and shame.
Sources said the shelter at Beltikiri has been operating without registration under the Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act, 2015 for the past two years. The inmates are minor children, both boys and girls, who are mostly orphans.
“The chief often calls girls to his room and touches them inappropriately. He also makes us do his personal chores like washing his clothes,” an inmate said.
The boys accused Nayak of making casteist remarks at them. They also complained of substandard food being served to them. The boys said they have been threatened with violence if they open their mouth.
The children are not allowed to go outside and punished for small matters, the sources said.
Rehman refuted the charges saying the girls are levelling allegations after being instigated by some people with vested interest. Nayak too refuted the allegations and called it an act of revenge by the girls for trying to enforce discipline.
Acting on media reports, Dhenkanal district child protection officer Anuradha Goswami and members of the Child Welfare Committee raided the shelter home at Beltikiri on the outskirts of Dhenkanal Friday, a police officer said.
Goswami had also lodged a complaint with Sadar police station in this connection and Nayak was arrested, he said.
An investigation has been initiated into the case, said Dhenkanal sub-divisional police officer Abdul Karim said.
The Centre had earlier directed the states to inspect all child care institutions in the aftermath of the sexual abuse of 34 minor girls at a shelter home in Bihar. A similar case had also surfaced in Deoria, Uttar Pradesh this year.
As many as 539 child care institutions were shut down by the Women and Child Development Ministry across the country for various irregularities.
PNN