Delhi shelter-home abuse: 4 women staff arrested

Four women of a Delhi shelter home, where girls were allegedly abused by its staff, were arrested on Saturday, police said.

During an inspection of a private shelter home in Dwarka on Thursday, the Delhi Commission for Women (DCW) found that girls at the home were severely punished by the staff for not following rules. Some teenage girls alleged that the female staff put chilli powder in their private parts as punishment and they were forced to have chilli powder, the DCW had said.

Following the revelation, an FIR was registered and four women were arrested. One them is a welfare officer, one in-charge and two house mothers. They have been sent to judicial custody and further investigation into the matter is underway, the police said.

DCW Chairperson Swati Maliwal said the behaviour towards the girls was unacceptable and wondered why the child welfare committee was not able to find it during its inspections.

She requested the authorities to not separate the girls by transferring them to another shelter home and change the staff instead.

Maliwal had said a team of DCW counsellors as well as the police have been deputed in the home 24/7 to ensure the safety of the children. The DCW will continue to monitor the condition of the home.

Earlier, the DCW had set up an expert committee in consultation with the Delhi government to inspect various private and government-run shelter homes and give suggestions for their improvement.