Inmates of a shelter home being run by an NGO at Beltikiri in Dhenkanal district of Odisha have accused Simanchal Nayak, the person in charge of it, of repeated sexual assault on minor girls living on the premises.
The inmates made the allegation following a raid conducted by a joint team comprising Child Development Project Officer, members of Child Welfare Committee and police, on the shelter home on Friday.
“Initially, we were not disclosing the incident fearing public humiliation, but when repeated sexual harassment became unbearable, we were forced to come out in the open,” said an inmate.
JJ Act violation
The CWC team found that the shelter home, being run by NGO Good News India, was established in violation of the Juvenile Justice Act.
“The shelter home has not been registered as per JJ Act. As many as 81 inmates have been given residential accommodation. Of them 47 are girls. We are in the process of recording statements of the inmates. The findings of our investigation would be forwarded to the higher-ups for action,” Niranjan Mishra, a CWC member, told The Hindu over the phone.
“When we first received the complaint about harassment, we issued a show-cause notice after paying a visit to the home [on Wednesday]. Subsequently, a police complaint was registered with the Dhenkanal Sadar Police Station [on Thursday],” said CDPO Anuradha Goswami.
Mr. Nayak, the man in the eye of the storm, dismissed the allegation saying the children were levelling false allegations as he was strict in matters of discipline.