BALASORE: The District Child Protection Officer (DCPO) and director of a short stay home here were arrested by local police on Tuesday for their alleged involvement in a sexual harassment case. The incident had occurred in an NGO-run shelter home four months back.
DCPO Itishree Mohapatra and director of Swadhaar Home which is managed by Santwana, an NGO at Chandipur near Mitrapur in Balasore district, Sukanti Parida were produced in the court and remanded in judicial custody after their bail pleas were rejected.
Police said a case was registered against the two for allegedly cooperating with the people who were accused in the sexual harassment case. According to the complaint, a 15-year-old girl was sexually abused in Bapuji Seva Sadan, a Child Care Institute (CCI) in February. She was rescued and brought to the short stay home by the local administration a few days later. Here too, she was sexually harassed by an employee of the organisation.
Following the complaint lodged by the victim, the police had arrested house mother of the CCI Mamata Behera and Binod Nayak of Swadhaar Home while secretary of the CCI Goura Chandra Khamari is absconding.
Sahadevkhunta IIC Paresh Rout said though the DCPO was aware of the incident, neither she informed the District Collector nor lodged a police complaint. She did not even intimate the Child Welfare Committee.
Earlier, the DCPO and Programme Officer (institutional care) Shradhanjali Beuria were disengaged on the instruction of the Women and Child Development (W&CD) Department in the case.
Meanwhile, the State Government has withdrawn the registration awarded to the CCI and stopped the grant-in-aid.
According to the inquiry report, during her stay in the CCI, Behera used to send the victim to the room of Khamari either to provide water or massage him at night. During this period, he would allegedly abuse her sexually. She was then shifted to Swadhaar Home where Nayak abused her.
Show cause notices also have been issued to the District Social Welfare Officer (DSWO) and the Child Protection Officer.
