New Delhi: Union Minister for Women and Child Development Maneka Sanjay Gandhi has ordered an inquiry into the Dhenkanal shelter home case and asked the National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR) to conduct inspection of all shelter homes in Odisha.
In a letter to Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik Friday, Maneka Gandhi expressed concerns over the abuse of girls at Good News India shelter home at Belatigiri in Dhenkanal.
“It is alleged the shelter home was rife with the incidents of sexual harassment and was being used as a shield for illegal religious conversions. Investigations have revealed the Good News India NGO running these homes has been operating in Odisha for the past two years without registration under Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act 2015,” Maneka wrote.
She wondered how such horrible things were taking place in a location situated 10-km from the Dhenkanal district Collectorate and the officials were not aware of it.
Gandhi further stated in her letter that the Odisha Women and Child Development Minister and District Child Protection Officer have confirmed that the licence for this shelter home had expired last month.
“This is a gross violation of Integrated Child Protection Scheme and highlights a lack of oversight by state government authorities on statutory compliance for running a shelter home. This incident is revealing a the failure of the state government in taking basic precautionary measures for the safety and welfare of children,” Gandhi added.
State mute spectator to JJA violation: Dharmendra
Bhubaneswar: Union Petroleum Minister Dharmendra Pradhan Saturday sought Union Home Ministry’s intervention in punishing the people behind the sexual exploitation of minor girls at a shelter home run by Good News India that was sealed Sunday in Dhenkanal. “I sincerely urge you to take exemplary action against the perpetrators of this heinous crime in order to stop the illegal functioning of the shelter home,” Pradhan wrote to Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh, adding, “the NGO which is flush with foreign funds is running 26 shelter homes in Odisha out of which 15 are illegal. The state government is a mute spectator to the blatant violation of the Juvenile Justice Act.”
PNN