LUCKNOW: As many as 14 girls were ‘rescued’ from a well-known
shelter home in Gomtinagar on Saturday after teams of Child Welfare Committee (CWC) and police inspected it.
The girls, CWC said, were living in pitiable conditions.
According to officials, shelter home Manisha Mandir was violating the Juvenile Justice Act, 2015. Aged six to 14 years, most girls staying in the home had boils on their skin. They slept on beds without mattresses and puss and blood were oozing from their wounds. No medical help was provided to them, said CWC member Sangeeta Sharma.
The children were made to eat stale or half-cooked food as older girls were made to cook and take
care of younger ones. “There was no doctor, cook or security guard, clearly flouting the JJ Act,” said Sharma.
She added that the rooms were untidy and stinking, with no proper ventilation.
Meanwhile, Manisha Mandir owner Sarojini Agarwal, who has won many awards and is a writer, refuted the allegations.
Though Manisha Mandir is a home for orphans, CWC claimed that most girls staying there had families in villages in Lakhimpur Kheri on India-Nepal border. The parents of these girls were asked to pay Rs 4,000 annually to the home on the promise that the girls would get good education and living conditions.
According to Sharma, in the visit made on September 20, the inmates also complained that the owner does not allow them to talk to or meet their parents. They were asked to do various chores.
While six girls from the home were shifted to Rajkiya Balika Griha in Motinagar, eight others, who were very young, were shifted to Bal Griha on Prag Narain Road.
Sharma said the inmates even claimed that “pastries, cakes and eatables brought by visitors were not given to them. The money given by people to girls on festivals was also taken away,” added Sharma. “We are in touch with authorities and will lodge an FIR against Manisha Mandir on Sunday. We will call the parents and hand over the girls to them,” added Sharma.
Agarwal said, “When the CWC members came, the cook and security guard were present. Adequate security arrangements like CCTV cameras are there. All girls are studying in prestigious schools of city.”
She said the boils on their skin were due to rainy season. “Proper care of every child is taken. The kitchen and rooms are tidy. Visitors have given us good remarks which are maintained in our guest register.”
She added that Manisha Mandir does not take funds from government and sustains on contributions by people and NGOs.
“The girls who taken away were to be given scholarships on Manisha Jayanti on Sunday, but now, their future is in darkness,” added Agarwal.
She claimed the accusations were part of a conspiracy to malign her image.
Representative image 
