Probe panel indicts Deoria admin, police, child welfare committee

THE REPORT BLAMED THE THEN DISTRICT MAGISTRATE SUJIT KUMAR FOR IGNORING THE DIRECTION OF THE CHILD AND WELFARE DEPARTMENT TO TAKE ACTION AGAINST THE NGO

LUCKNOW : A two-member committee constituted by chief minister Yogi Adityanath to probe the alleged sexual exploitation of inmates at the Deoria shelter home indicted the district administration, the district police and child welfare committee for not having taken action in the matter in time, a state government official said.

The committee handed over its report to the chief minister on Tuesday evening.

A senior state government officer said the report blamed the then district magistrate Sujit Kumar for ignoring the direction of the child and welfare department to take action against the NGO Maa Vindhyvasani Mahila and Balika Sanrakshan Grih for illegal operation of the shelter home.

The DM was also told to shut the shelter home and shift the children to another accommodation, the official said, quoting the report. Had the DM followed the order of the state government, the children would have been rescued in June last year when the state government cancelled the recognition of the NGO, he added.

The DM told the probe team that when district administration officers raided the shelter home, its manager Girija Tripathi poured kerosene and threatened to set herself ablaze.

The probe team said Tripathi’s threat indicated she was trying to cover up her misdeeds. Instead of succumbing to pressure, the district administration should have raided the shelter home with police assistance, the probe report said.

The chief minister has already ordered for filing a charge sheet against the DM.

The role of the district police also came under the scanner in the report. In September, the then Deoria superintendent of police had issued a circular, directing the station house officers of all the police stations not to send rescued children to the shelter home run by the NGO after the state government terminated its recognition, the report said.

Ignoring the order, the local police continued to send the rescued children to the shelter .

Two FIRs were registered against members of the Maa Vidhvasani Mahila and Balika Sanrakshan management but the district police took no action. The police officers told the probe committee as there was no other shelter home in the district, they were left with no other option but to send the children to the home run by Girija Tripathi. The ADG, Gorakhpur, has been directed to probe into the working of Deoria police.

The district probation officer (DPO) too ignored the women and child welfare department’s directives, the report said.

Although the NGO’s recognition was cancelled in May last year, the DPO did not try shut the shelter home and shift the children, the report said, adding the district child welfare committee too remained inactive.

The welfare committee members neither visited the shelter home to review its working nor communicated with the inmates, the report said.

A home department officer said the probe report, and copies of the two FIRs will be sent to the central government with the recommendation for the CBI probe.

The probe committee consisted of additional chief secretary, women welfare, Renuka Kumar and ADG (Women Power Line) Anju Gupta.