Rohtak:
The Haryana government has sealed the Apna Ghar shelter home almost a month after the sexual and physical assault of over 100 women and children was exposed. A special investigation team of the Haryana Police is now investigating allegations that its own officials were involved in the exploitation of inmates of this government funded protection home for women and children in Rohtak district.
Apna Ghar's shocking stories emerged after 3 girls escaped in the first week of May from this shelter house to Delhi and gave their statement in front of the child welfare committee. In a surprise raid by the team of the National Commission for Protection of Child Right (NCPCR) nearly 120 people including children, girls and women were rescued. The inmates were allegedly subjected to sexual abuse, physical and mental exploitation and used as bonded labour. The home is run by the NGO Bharat Vikas Sangh.
Some female inmates of the protection home had even alleged that the in-charge of the place, Jaswanti Devi, had forced some of the girls from the home into immoral activities.
They alleged that they used to be brutally assaulted by the in-charge to force them to go with outsiders, including influential people and even police officials. Some girls alleged that they were sexually exploited several times within and outside the protection home.
Jaswanti was arrested last month along with her son-in-law Jai Bhagwan by the Haryana Police.
Rohtak is the home town of Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda. The shelter for women and children was getting grants amounting to millions of rupees from the state and central governments.
Haryana's Director General of Police (DGP) Ranjiv S. Dalal told mediapersons that the committee, to be headed by Additional DGP (Law and Order) M.S. Maan, has been constituted to probe allegations.
The protection home has two units, one for women and teenaged girls and the other for children, both boys and girls.
Dalal said a criminal case against the' NGO was registered May 10 at Rohtak for molestation, rape, illegal confinement, criminal intimidation and under various sections of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) and the Immoral Trafficking Act, Bonded Labour Act and Juvenile Justice Act.
The DGP said that if any Haryana Police official was found guilty in the probe in this matter, he would be given "exemplary punishment".
He said many agencies, including a committee of the Punjab and Haryana High Court, NCPCR, police and Women and Child Welfare department were investigating the issue ever since the activities came out in the open.
Expressing concern over the alleged exploitation of the children, Dalal said cases of such nature, being very sensitive, should be investigated and tried in a time-bound manner. He said he was shocked to learn that the inmates were even allegedly exploited by police officials.
"The rights of children are sacred to us and we value their rights and they should be protected. The police have very clear rules. Therefore, the guilty would be punished under the law," he added.
Following the NCPCR raid, the authorities found that some inmates were missing from the home. The NGO in-charge had reportedly given these children away to childless couples from other states.