MP: Ex-Army man held for sexual abusing shelter home inmates

A 71-year-old retired Army man was arrested Saturday for allegedly sexually abusing inmates, including minors, of the shelter home her runs here, police said.

The former Army Havaldar, M P Awasthi, was arrested after three men and a woman, all inmates of the shelter home meant for disabled, complained against him, Khajuri police station In-charge Harishankar Pandey said.

Some of the victims were minors at the time of incident.

The accused was booked on the charges of rape, unnatural sex and criminal force to woman with intent to outrage her modesty among others and provisions of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act.

While a senior Congress leader had alleged Friday that three of the shelter home's inmates had died due to the sexual abuse and torture, Superintendent of Police (SP), North, Hemant Chouhan, however, said no murder case had been registered as yet.

"The case is being probed. If facts corroborating these charges (murder) come up during the investigations, then the related sections would be added," Chouhan said.

Nearly 40 inmates of the shelter home, meant for the disabled, had Friday visited the Congress office.

After the visit to the Congress office, the inmates had, along with the opposition party's leaders and workers, submitted a complaint at TT Nagar police station Friday night, following which an FIR was registered.

MP Congress media cell chief Shobha Oza had Friday alleged that the state government had ignored an inmate's complaint of sexual abuse made to the Hoshangabad Collector in February 2017.

Awasthi's shelter home has has a branch in Hoshangabad.

While the complaint was found to be correct and the Hoshangabad facility was closed down, no FIR was registered at the time, Oza had said.

Oza had alleged that three inmates had died from the sexual abuse and torture.