Uttar Pradesh: Deoria shelter home sealed, District Magistrate sacked

On Sunday police had rescued 24 girls from Maa Vindhyavasini shelter home after a girl had escaped and informed police about mistreatment by its managers.

Image: ANI

New Delhi: The tainted Deoria shelter home for girls was sealed in the presence of senior district authorities on Monday night and the documents related to it were seized, after two and a half hours of search conducted by the authorities. Also, the District Magistrate of Deoria, Sujit Kumar, was sacked from his post and the DM of Etah, Amit Kishore, was appointed as the replacement of Kumar after the alleged racket came to light on Monday. The further probe shall be conducted on the basis of the documents recovered. A huge number of police and administrative officers were present while the shelter home was being sealed. UP CM Yogi Adityanath has constituted a two-member high-level committee for investigation in the incident.

Shelter home that was running illegally in Deoria has been sealed. 24 girls were rescued from the shelter home last night & its managers were arrested. UP CM has constituted a two-member high-level committee for investigation in the incident. pic.twitter.com/p1uaHV1fDo

— ANI UP (@ANINewsUP) August 6, 2018

Apart from the removal of Kumar, former district police officers (DPOs) Neeraj Kumar and Abhishek Pandey were suspended for not taking action against the shelter house. On Sunday police had rescued 24 girls from the Maa Vindhyavasini shelter home after a girl had escaped and informed police about mistreatment by the managers. The couple that managed the shelter home was arrested. The shelter home had its license revoked following and inspection by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI). Questions are also being raised over the number of girls in the home. While it is being said that there were 42 inmates in the shelter home, police rescued only 24. The Inspector General of Police, Praveen Kumar told in a press conference that since the number of incoming and outgoing girls was not properly accounted for, it is resulting in all the confusion. He also said that as per procedures, the girls will first be counselled before a medical examination can be conducted on them. On a related note, the Delhi Commission for Women (DCW) has set up an expert committee to conduct a social audit of all shelter homes for women and girls and has been asked to submit its report in three months.