Muzaffarpur redux in Deoria! Shelter girls narrate ordeal

24 rescued, 18 missing; DM shunted; Yogi orders probe into sexual exploitation

After Muzaffarpur’s shelter home rape case, a similar horrifying saga of sexual exploitation of minors in a shelter home run by a non-governmental organisation (NGO) surfaced in Deoria after 24 girls were rescued from a shelter home on Sunday night.

The matter came to light on Sunday night when one of the victims somehow slipped out of the home and reached local police station and narrated how the shelter home owner is exploiting girls.

“Many times white, black and red cars used to come and take away the girls. When they returned in the morning, they used to cry,” the girl told police. The girl added that some people used to come to the shelter home around 4 pm every day and took away some girls along with the manager. The 10-year-old girl who complained to police belongs to Bihar’s Bettiah city.

Surprisingly there are 42 girls staying in the shelter home, but 18 of them were found missing under mysterious circumstances till filing of the report.

Acting swiftly, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath  shunted out District Magistrate Sujit Kumar and sent a high-powered committee to probe the matter and place its findings before him.

The registration of the shelter home was cancelled last year after CBI detected irregularities in the Palna scheme, where MGNREGA women workers keep their children. Owner of the shelter home Girja Tripathi and her husband have been arrested for exploitation of the girls.

However, Tripathi alleged she was forced to run the shelter with financial aids.

“Even after all the financial assistance was stopped, police forced us to run the centre and was regularly sending the girls and children at the shelter home,” she alleged.

Addressing the media, Deoria Superintendent of Police Rohan P Kanay said the Government had cancelled affiliation of the shelter home and reformation centre run by Ma Vindhvasini Women training and Social Service society.

“Initial investigations have revealed that girls in age group  between 15 and 18 years were pushed into prostitution,” said Kanay, adding that the building was sealed and its owner Girija Tripathi along with her husband Mohan Tripathi were arrested while manager of shelter home Kanchanlata is on the run.

The SP said as per information 42 women and children were living in that shelter home in which 18 are missing. A case has been registered under relevant sections and probe is on, he added.

Meanwhile Additional Director General of Police (ADG) Law and order Anand Kumar told the media in Lucknow that a thorough probe on the incident has been ordered.

 “The district authorities are probing the issue while the women and child welfare department are coordinating it,” he said. Kumar said that medical examination was being conducted of all the girls and children while they will be produced before the POSCO court for recording of their statements under section 164 of the CrPC.

The State Government had last year itself  ordered the DM to shut down the institution but the administration did not comply with it. 

The CM ordered stern action against the officials soon after summoning Women and Child Welfare Minister Rita Bahuguna Joshi, Principal Secretary (Home) Arvind Kumar, Principal Secretary (Women Welfare) Renuka Kumar and DGP OP Singh and collecting first hand information from them.

According to Government spokesperson, the CM has asked Additional Chief Secretary Renuka Kumar and ADG (Women Cell) Anju Gupta to rush to Deoria and submit their report by Tuesday. The officials were subsequently rushed to Deoria on a Government helicopter from Lucknow. Divisional Commissioner of Gorakhpur will provide necessary assistance and cooperation to the probe committee.

The State Government also suspended a couple of other officials of Deoria, who were authorised to monitor the functioning of the girls’ shelter homes. The then district probation officer Abhishek Pandey has been suspended and departmental action has been ordered against former district probation officers Neeraj Kumar and Anoop Singh.

An official communiqué also confirmed that Yogi posted senior IAS officer Amit Kishore as the new District Magistrate of Deoria. Amit Kishore was presently posted as DM of Etah. Registrar of Chits and Fund, Eshwari Prasad Pandey, will be the new DM of Etah.

Suspended DM of Deoria, Sujit Kumar, had revealed to the media on Monday morning that he had visited the shelter home several times in the past but could not dare to raid it as its owner had created law and order problems. He claimed to have also registered a case against the owner for creating obstacle before the law enforcing agencies.

Meanwhile, Women and Child Welfare Minister Rita Bahuguna Joshi claimed that on August 1 last year, FIR was lodged to shut this shelter home immediately as illegal acts were being carried there.

“The number of children enrolled at the shelter home as per records are not present. One girl was rescued on Sunday who has filed a complaint. Investigation is underway,” she said. Joshi said after CBI inspection last year, it was established that the Deoria shelter home was running illegally. “A directive was issued to shift the inmates and shut it. But this order was not followed,” she said.

Interestingly last Friday, Yogi had also issued a circular in the wake of Muzaffarpur (Bihar) incident asking all the DMs and local officials to check the activities of woman and children protection homes in the State.

Now after Deoria’s incident, the CM has issued fresh directives asking all DMs to immediately inspect women shelter homes and children homes in their districts and submit a report to the state government within 12 hours so that necessary action may be initiated. The CM has also warned officers against any laxity in compliance with these orders.