Minors tortured: Sisodia asks DM to take over Delhi shelter home

Following an adverse report about a national capital-based shelter home by the Delhi Commission for Women (DCW), Delhi Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia on Monday directed the District Magistrate to immediately take over the shelter home and asked DCW chief Swati Maliwal to conduct an inquiry into the matter and submit a report within 15 days.

According to the Delhi Commission for Women (DCW), Sisodia has also directed to ensure that the present staff members of the home are replaced with a new set of staff, and that the girls are kept together and not separated.

During an inspection of the private shelter home located in Dwarka here last week, the DCW had found that the home staff used to apply chilli powder in the private parts of girl inmates as a form of punishment.

"Other forms of punishment included beating with measuring scales for not keeping the rooms clean and for not listening to the staff. The girls were also forced to perform domestic chores of the home. This abuse had been going on for several months," DCW said in a statement.

A police case has been registered in the matter and Maliwal had tweeted that four of the accused staff members were arrested as well.

The Commission had requested the Child Welfare Committee (CWC) concerned to ensure removal of the present staff of the home.

However, the Commission has learnt that the two girls who were subjected to extreme physical abuse were singled out and shifted out of the home while other girls remain in the Child Welfare Committee (CWC) shelter home.

"In our view, this shall create further stress on the girls who may continue to feel as though punishment is being meted out to them for speaking up as they were separated from their friends and taken to an unknown place," it said.

--IANS

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