Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia has suspended two senior officials of the Women and Child Development Department after eight women and a girl went missing from a shelter home in east Delhi.
The action was taken after the matter was raised by the Delhi Commission for Women (DCW), which is also demanding that the case be transferred to Delhi Police's Crime Branch to ensure a high-level investigation into the matter.
The Delhi Police registered an FIR on Sunday in the matter.
In a letter, Mr Sisodia said the Department of Women and Child Development has "failed" in its duty to provide a safe and secure environment for the women and the girl who were placed under the protection of the state.
He also said the matter is "extremely serious" and it raises a "serious doubt" on the intention of the officials.
"In view of the same, it is directed that the district officer, north east, WCD and Superintendent, SAG Home are immediately placed under suspension and their charge is given to competent and sensitive officers," the letter said.
The DCW, in a statement, claimed that the missing girls of Sanskar Ashram at Dilshad Garden were found after six months on December 2 following which a case was registered.
The DCW alleged that they were victims of human trafficking and commercial sexual exploitation and also claimed that brothel owners might have kidnapped them in "connivance with the Home authorities".
The women rights body demanded that the matter be probed thoroughly.
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