An HIV-positive girl living at a shelter home in Maharashtra's Latur has alleged that she was raped by a staffer for two years and forced to undergo an abortion after she became pregnant. Four persons were arrested on Friday following a complain filed by the survivor.
According to the police complaint, the 16-year-old girl was raped four times at Sevalay, a shelter-home for HIV-infected children in Latur. The girl alleged that the sexual abuse took place four times between July 13, 2023, and July 23, 2025.
The girl filed a complaint at the Dhoki police station in her native place Dharashiv. The survivor also said she was threatened by the perpetrator and warned not to disclose the abuse. When she attempted to seek help by writing a complaint letter and placing it in a designated box, the shelter home's management reportedly destroyed her letter and did not provide any assistance.
"As per her complaint, the child was at the institution for the past two years. She was allegedly raped by an employee of the children's home four times. He also threatened her to not disclose the ordeal to anyone. The institution's management did not help her and even tore up a letter she had marked for officials and had dropped into a complaint box," a police official told news agency PTI.
The girl's ordeal was brought to the light after she became seriously ill and was subsequently hospitalised. Doctors ran tests and discovered she was four months pregnant. The accused then got a doctor to perform an abortion on the minor without her consent.
Dhoki police booked six persons in connection with the matter and arrested Sevalay founder Ravi Bapatle and superintendent Rachna Bapatle. Employees Amit Mahamuni and Pooja Waghmare were also held in connection with the allegations, Latur Superintendent of Police Amol Tambe said.
Sevalay, which describes itself as a “happy home of children” according to its website, currently houses 23 boys and seven girls, all HIV-positive. The website claims all staff members work on a voluntary basis.