The Delhi Police on Saturday arrested four women staff of a shelter home in Dwarka area of the national Capital where the girls were allegedly abused, PTI reported.
The Delhi Commission for Women on Friday had said that members of the panel conducted a surprise visit to the home on Thursday and spoke to the girls aged between six and 15 about their stay at the shelter. A few girls alleged that female staff at the shelter home punished them by applying chilli powder in their genital area. The statement said the girls were allegedly forced to eat chilli powder as well.
“We got the police to register an FIR,” the statement said, according to Hindustan Times. “The police told us they had deployed personnel in plainclothes at the home to monitor the activities.” Deputy commissioner of Police (Dwarka) Anto Alphonse said an FIR under sections of the Protection Of Children from Sexual Offences Act and Juvenile Justice Act have been registered.
The older girls told the commission that they were forced to wash utensils and clothes, clean rooms and toilets as the shelter home did not have adequate staff. The shelter home only had one cook for the 22 girls staying there, and the food was of poor quality, the statement said.
“Other forms of punishment included beating with scales for not keeping the rooms clean,” the statement said. “The girls were not permitted to go home during summer and winter vacations.”
Earlier this year, an audit report of 110 shelter homes in Bihar exposed alleged sexual exploitation of children at one home in Muzaffarpur. The audit had been ordered by the state government, which then filed a first information report against 11 people. A medical report confirmed the sexual assault of 34 inmates at the shelter.
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