Dhenkanal: New revelations about alleged sexual exploitation of inmates at Beltikiri shelter home run by Good News India have exposed the role of Dr Fayaz Reheman, main accused, who has confessed to his crimes during police interrogation Wednesday. Reheman said the shelter home was receiving funds from abroad while inmates were forcibly converted into Christianity.
The activities of the shelter home were being controlled from its head office in West Bengal, Superintendent of police Santosh Kumar Nayak said Wednesday.
Meanwhile, a special POCSO court has extended the remand of the accused by two more days. The SP said dollars coming from California were being exchanged through some SBI braches and transferred to the account of the home’s head office at Medinapore.
The funds being deposited at Salgadia SBI branch were coming to an ICICI branch in Bhubaneswar and the funds were being transferred to the branches in Odisha. Reheman was receiving nearly Rs 15 crore per annuam as donation from the USA. The home at Salgadia was registered under Society Registration Act-1961 under West Bengal government while the shelter home has 25 branches in the state. Reheman allegedly purchased the land at Beltikiri from a Dalit man in a fraudulent manner. The Collector said this allegation would be investigated.
Berhampur: The state government Wednesday shut down four shelter homes operating without registration after investigations they were running illegally, said the officials.
The government had directed the concerned district collectors to inspect the shelter homes following allegations of sexual harassment at a shelter home run by Good News India (GNI) at Beltikiri in Dhenkanal district. The incident has sparked statewide outcry and three persons have been arrested in this connection.
Three of the shelter homes sealed were also run by GNI. The other closed shelter home was operated by an NGO with the financial assistance of GNI, sources said.
Ganjam district administration shut down a shelter home for children at Saheb Jenapalli near Chhatrapur, run by Good News India, they said. The home was closed due to lack of registration, said District Child Protection Officer (DCPO) Subodh Sarangi.
There were 134 inmates, including 78 girls and 56 boys, in the home. Most of the inmates belonged to Kandhamal and Gajapati districts, Sarangi said.
The children would be handed over to their parents after producing them before the Child Welfare Committee (CWC), he said, adding they are currently lodged in Utkal Balashram, a child care institute run by the government. The DCPO said the home was not registered under Juvenile Justice Act since 2016.