Kanpur shelter home: NHRC orders probe, issues notices to Uttar Pradesh Chief Secy, DGP
NEW DELHI: After disturbing reports emerged from Uttar Pradesh’s Kanpur about 57 girls in a shelter home testing positive for COVID-19 with five of them pregnant and one positive for HIV, the National Human Rights Commission of India (NHRC) took suo motu cognizance of the incident and ordered a thorough investigation in the matter.
The NHRC said the reports have enough information that, if proven to be true, shows that “public servants had failed to provide safeguard to the victim girls and, apparently, were negligent in protecting their right to life, liberty and dignity in the custody of the State”.
While it is learnt that the first case of Coronavirus in the shelter home was detected on June 15, the building was not sealed until June 19. In those four days, 49 other occupants of the shelter home had tested positive.
Significantly, multiple reports have revealed that the home was meant to have a maximum occupancy of 100 girls and was, in fact, housing 171 girls when the cases came to light. As of now, a total of 57 girls from the home and one employee are positive for the contagious disease.
However, in a more shocking revelation, it was found that at least seven girls housed at the shelter home were pregnant, of which five were among the COVID-19 cases detected.
The NHRC has now issued notices to the Uttar Pradesh Chief
Secretary and the Director-general of Police in the state, ordering the former to initiate an independent inquiry in the matter and the latter to register an FIR in the case and submit a report on the status of the investigation. The human rights body has asked both the police and the Chief Secretary to submit an action taken report in four weeks.
The rights body has directed the state government to submit detailed reports on the health status of all the girls, their medical treatment and counselling provided to them by the authorities in addition to making sure that suitable directions are ensured to prevent such an incident from happening again.
On Sunday, Kanpur DM Brahma Dev Ram Tiwari told reporters: “The five pregnant girls, who have been found Covid- positive, were referred by the Child Welfare Committees of Agra, Etah, Kannauj, Firozabad and Kanpur under the POCSO Act. Two other pregnant girls have tested negative for COVID-19. The seven girls were pregnant at the time when they came to the shelter home.”
Meanwhile, former UP Chief Minister and Samajwadi Party leader Akhilesh Yadav in a tweet said: “Outrage has spread in UP due to the news of the Child Protection Home in Kanpur. There has been disclosure of some minor girls getting pregnant. Of these, 57 have been found to be affected by Corona and one with AIDS, they should be treated immediately. The government should immediately conduct an inquiry against those responsible.”