Maneka Gandhi seeks constituency-wise reports on shelter homes

In the wake of the rising number of untoward incidents in shelter homes, Women and Child Development Minister Maneka Gandhi on Monday sought reports from ministers on shelter homes in their respective constituencies.

"I propose that MPs go to institutions in their constituencies and if they give me a report, I'm happy to take action immediately. A long-term solution is to make large homes in each state for 1000 women, 1000 children, with an all-women staff and do away with these small centres. I'm ready to sanction money for this," she told ANI.

Gandhi further claimed that many more such incidents were going unreported.

"It's not only frightening, it makes me sad. I know there will be many more because, for years and years, we have paid no attention, apart from giving them money. Non-Governmental Organisations were sent to send a report on 9000 institutions; they sent back the most cursory reports. This didn't make me happy at all and it means no one is really interested," she added.

On Sunday, police arrested a couple and rescued 24 girls from a shelter home in Uttar Pradesh's Deoria after a girl escaped from the shelter home and informed the police how they were all treated like servants.

Both the man and his wife were managers at the shelter home, which had its license revoked following an inspection by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI).

In a similar incident, employees of a shelter home in Bihar's Muzaffarpur were arrested last month for allegedly sexually harassing the girls here.

On receiving information, the police raided the vicinity and rescued 44 girls.