Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia on Monday directed the area’s District Magistrate (DM) to take over a Dwarka shelter home where staffers had allegedly ill-treated minor inmates.

The orders came following an inspection carried out by the Delhi Commission for Women (DCW) where it was found that the shelter home staff had allegedly ill-treated the minor girls.

Probe ordered

Mr. Sisodia has also directed the DCW to conduct an inquiry into the matter and submit a report within 15 days.

“The girls were forced to perform domestic chores of the home and the staff used to apply chilli powder in their private parts as punishment. The abuse had been going on for several months,” said a DCW official.

While directing the authorities to ensure protection of the girls at the shelter home, Mr. Sisodia further said that “this case is an example of gross failure of responsibility”.

‘New management’

In the letter written to the Deputy Chief Mnister, the women’s commission referred to a Supreme Court order, which states that “in such cases the management should be changed and children should be relocated to some other facility”.

Mr. Sisodia has directed the DM to ensure that a new management is brought in and that the girls should not be separated.

“The commission had requested the Child Welfare Committee concerned to ensure removal of the present staff of the home and that new staff is posted. However, the commission has learnt that the two girls who were subjected to extreme physical abuse was singled out and shifted out of the home, while the others are still there,” the DCW official also said.