LUCKNOW: Pratapgarh joined the infamous list of Deoria and Harodi in Uttar Pradesh after a surprise inspection on Wednesday revealed that over two dozen women were missing from two NGO-run shelter homes.
According to the official sources, the inspection was conducted by the Pratapgarh administration in compliance with the CM's orders. It was part of a statewide crackdown following the rescue of 24 girls from a shelter home running illegally in Deoria on Sunday.
Led by Pratapgarh DM Shambhu Nath, a team inspected a women's shelter home at Achalpur locality. On checking the records, the team traced only one of the 16 women inmates registered in the documents.
Shelter home superintendent Neha Praveen claimed the women were out for work. But, the shelter home management failed to provide the account register and also did not have CCTV cameras, which are mandatory in such facilities.
To check the veracity of management's claims, the team revisited in the evening and found only three women present at the shelter home.
The DM ordered a probe following which the shelter home superintendent tendered her resignation.
At another shelter home, Swadhar Jagriti Grih, in Ashtabhuja Nagar, only three of the 17 inmates were present during the inspection. Manager Rama Mishra too made the same explanation that the women had gone out for work. Meanwhile, the register at the shelter did not have the photographs of the inmates.
Both the shelters homes will face punitive action, if the number of registered inmates does not match up in the next inspection. There were talks of inflated enrolment for drawing funds from the state government.
In Deoria, the police and the district administration had claimed that only seven girls were still missing from the Maa Vindhyavasini shelter home. SP, Deoria, Rohan P Kanay said 11 of the total 18 girls were found initially missing from the shelter home. They were located after their reunion with their families. He added the physical verification of seven other women, who is said to be married and reunited with their families, was yet to be done.