Deoria Shelter Home Case: Cars Came to Pick Girls at Night, Dropped Them in Morning, Reveals Victim

In a chilling similarity to the Bihar shelter home assault cases, at least 24 girls were rescued from the shelter in Deoria late on Sunday after one of them, who had escaped on Sunday night, told the police that cars used to come to pick them up at night and dropped them in the morning.

New Delhi, Aug 7: Days after the Muzaffarpur shelter home assault case came to light, another similar case emerged from Uttar Pradesh’s Deoria district on Monday. In a chilling similarity to the Bihar shelter home assault cases, at least 24 girls were rescued from the shelter in Deoria late on Sunday after one of them, who had escaped on Sunday night, told the police that cars used to come to pick them up at night and dropped them in the morning.

Following a complaint, the police raided the Deoria shelter home and rescued at least 24 girls. The girls have also alleged that they were treated like servants by the shelter home owners. Following the revelation, the manager of the ‘Ma Vindhyavasini Mahila Prashikshan Evam Samaj Seva Sansthan’ and his wife have been arrested.

“The girl who escaped had been staying at the home for the last three years. She said they treated her like a servant. She also told us many girls were taken away in cars at night. They returned in the morning and cried through the day. Adoptions were also happening in an illegal manner here. We are looking into it and searching for the missing girls,” NDTV quoted Superintendent of Police Rohan P Kanay as saying.

The shelter home had previously been receiving funds from the government. However, its affiliation was cancelled after the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) found irregularities in its functioning. When it came to light that the shelter home was being run illegally, an order was issued to its owners to shift the inmates and shut it immediately. The shelter home, however, continued to run.

Officials told IANS that 18 girls are missing from the privately-run shelter home which earlier got funds from the government, but whose affiliation to the women and child welfare department was cancelled last year after a CBI probe revealed some discrepancies. Deoria District Probation Officer (DPO) Abhishek Pandey has been suspended; action against former DPOs Neeraj Kumar and Anoop Singh has been initiated.

The incident has come days after the Muzaffarpur shelter home case was reported. In the Bihar shelter home, as many as 34 girls were tortured, raped, burnt and starved by operators and visitors. Under pressure from the opposition, Bihar CM Nitish Kumar had ordered a CBI inquiry in the case.