Allahabad HC to monitor probe into Deoria shelter home abuse

ALLAHABAD: The Allahabad high court on Wednesday said it would monitor investigation into the alleged prostitution racket at a women’s shelter home in Deoria. The court also asked the government counsel why the police kept sending girls to the shelter home even after it was blacklisted.

The court said it appeared that the accused enjoyed the patronage of a politician or a VIP, due to which no action was taken against the manager, despite complaints.

When the state informed the court that it had sent a letter to the home ministry, recommending a probe by the CBI into the case, the court said it would monitor the investigation to ensure that it went in the right direction.

The bench, comprising chief justice DB Bhosale and justice Yashwant Varma, passed the order, taking suo motu cognizance of the newspaper reports published about the case.

The court has directed CBI counsel Gyan Prakash and additional advocate general (AAG) Neeraj Tripathi to present a copy of the statements of all the inmates on August 13.

The court has also asked the counsels to apprise it if CCTVS were installed in or around the shelter home, and has sought details of the owners of the cars used to ferry the minors at night, as mentioned in media reports.

AAG Tripathi said, “The district magistrate of Deoria was immediately transferred to ensure fair investigation. The shelter home was blacklisted by the government and its funding was stopped a year ago.”

The court, however, observed: “What is the use of such steps if police officers kept on sending girls to the same shelter home which was blacklisted long back? What action was taken against such officers...?”

“It seems that the owners had the patronage of some politician or VIP. The girls were being shifted to the shelter home and no action was taken against the managers though several complaints in this regard were received by the district administration from time to time,” the court said.