WCD Minister Maneka Gandhi today directed officials to set up a mechanism so that women and children at shelter homes are able to reach out to them for help.
The women and child development (WCD) minister's direction came days after the alleged sexual assault of minor girls at a shelter home in Bihar's Muzaffarpur.
She said a telephone would also be made accessible to the shelter home inmates so that they can call either 1098 or 181 for help.
"I also urge each citizen to be vigilant and flag any such case of harassment against women and children by calling on the two numbers. You can also mail the details at min-wcd@nic.in or tweet with #HelpMeWCD," she said in a tweet.
"Deeply anguished by the incident of sexual assault on minor girls at a Muzaffarpur Shelter Home, I have directed ministry officers to put in place a mechanism so that the women and children at all such institutions are able to reach out to us for help," the minister said.
She also said posters will be put up at all shelter homes, housing women and children, so that they can call up Childline-1098 or Women Helpline-181, if they face any form of harassment. The posters will be in local languages.
The case of sexual assault of minor girls at the Muzaffarpur shelter home, run by an NGO, was first highlighted in an audit report submitted by the Tata Institute of Social Science (TISS), Mumbai, to the Bihar Social Welfare Department in April.
The FIR in the case was registered on May 31 against 11 people, including Brajesh Thakur, the owner of the NGO which ran the government-funded shelter home for destitute girls.
On July 26, Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar recommended a CBI inquiry into the matter.
About 34 minor girls were allegedly sexually abused at the shelter home in Muzaffarpur with medical reports confirming rape of them.
(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)