Bargarh: After allegations of sexual harassment of girl inmates at a shelter home run by West Bengal-based NGO Good News India in Beltikiri of Dhenkanal district surfaced, inspections are being carried out by National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR) and Odisha State Commission for Protection of Child Rights (OSCPCR) across several randomly-selected children’s homes in 19 districts of Odisha.
Two officials of the national child rights panel visited a shelter home run by the NGO at Tora Chhak in Bargarh town to verify whether they are registered under Juvenile Justice (JJ) Act.
The inspection team comprising NCPCR’s Arun Kumar and OSCPCR’s Gitanjali Bastia enquired about various issues of the girl and boy inmates at the shelter home. Among others District Child Welfare Committee (CWC) chairman Sujit Das, CWC member Birendra Meher, DCPO Hemsagar Nayak, counselor Saroj Pradhan, social activist Surendra Dash and Town police station IIC Bibhuti Bhusan Bhoi examined the documents during their inspection.
It is worth mentioning here that the inspections are being conducted on the directions of women and child development minister Maneka Gandhi who asked the NCPCR to get all the shelter homes inspected. Gandhi in a letter to Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik dated December 7, said it is matter of great concern and needs to be addressed immediately. The incident only came to light when some of the girls residing there confided to the media and accused the shelter home in-charge of sexual abuse. She said the incident reveals “a deep and utter failure” of the state government. Gandhi also set up an inquiry into the case which is being led by WCD secretary Rakesh Srivastava.
The NCPCR teams will talk to the victims who have alleged sexual harassment in Beltikiri shelter home run by the Good News India, they will also verify the allegations of religious conversions and foreign funding to the 22 such institutes run by the NGO. The NCPCR teams will also visit the institutes run by the organisation in Jharkhand and West Bengal as well and verify whether they are registered under JJ Act.
Police had arrested Simanchal Naik, Udit Lima and Fayaz Rahman, head of the NGO after allegations of sexual abuse of girl inmates at the shelter home in Beltikiri village surfaced in the media.
The girl inmates of the shelter home alleged that they were harassed sexually, physically and mentally by Naik and Rahman over the past two years.
PNN