5 girls flee from state-run shelter home in Bihar, 4 caught

Five girls fled from a government-funded shelter home for minor girls here on Monday, alleging mismanagement at the care unit, police said.

Four of them were caught by police at the railway station.

All the girls, said to be in their teens, escaped around 6 am after beating up an employee entrusted with the maintenance of the shelter home, situated in Nirala Nagar locality, snatching away the keys to the main gate, Ratanpur outpost in-charge Sudha Kumari said.

She said the outpost was informed about the incident shortly afterwards and four of the girls were caught, with help from the GRP, while they were trying to board a train.

One of the girls, a resident of Sahebganj district in Jharkhand, however, managed to flee taking advantage of the commotion at the railway station, Sudha Kumari said, adding, police in adjoining districts, besides the GRP, have been informed about the missing inmate.

"During preliminary interrogation, the girls alleged that mismanagement was rampant at the shelter home, where they were not given proper diet and beaten up whenever they complained about the quality of food. They are still being interrogated by the police and further course of action may be taken in due course," she added.

The shelter home's superintendent Anuja Kumari rubbished the allegations, and claimed that they have been "misled by some girls, who were recently brought at our place after being rescued from a red light area".

Upkeep of shelter homes in Bihar had hit the headlines last year following the infamous sex scandal of Muzaffarpur, which came to light in the report of a social audit conducted by Mumbai-based Tata Institute of Social Sciences, and is being investigated by the CBI.

The trial in the case was conducted at a Delhi court upon the Supreme Court's direction.

The state government has, thereafter, embarked on a drive to take over the administration of these from NGOs in a phased manner.