BHUBANESWAR: The 16-year-old Bangladeshi boy, who allegedly masterminded the escape of 11 minors from Ruchika shelter home in the City, was apprehended from Choudwar on Wednesday.
The boy, a resident of Gopalganj district in Bangladesh, was produced before Cuttack Child Welfare Committee which recorded his statement and shifted him to the Servants of India Society.
This was the third time the Bangladeshi boy escaped from a shelter home since his rescue from the railway station here in 2015. On each occasion, he had facilitated the escape of other inmates from the premises. Earlier, he had fled from rescue centres ‘Biswa Jivan’ in the City and ‘Asha Kiran’ at Jatni along with six minor boys.
Sources said though the Khurda district Child Welfare Committee has written to Department of Women and Child Welfare to send back the boy to his home country on multiple occasions, the latter is yet to initiate necessary proceedings for deportation.
‘’The minor has been a trouble for the rescue centres which have sheltered him and he also instigates other inmates to break the discipline of the unit,’’ a member of the CWC said. The CWC is likely to approach the Deputy High Commission of Bangladesh through the Resident Commissioner, Odisha to take appropriate action in this matter, said sources.
The minor had reportedly escaped from Ruchika Open Shelter here at Samantrapur along with 11 others on May 2. Two days later, one of the escapees was traced by Bhubaneswar Childline at the City railway station who informed that 10 other inmates have left for Jharsuguda on a train.
Six out of the 11 escapees have been rescued from different places of the State so far. ‘’Two were apprehended from Banki in Cuttack district, two from Bhubaneswar railway station, one from Cuttack and the Bangladeshi minor from Choudwar,’’ CWC member Benudhar Senapati said.
Police said the boys made elaborate plans to escape. “The bathroom had two skylights just above windows. Using the rails of the windows, they climbed through the ventilators,” an investigating officer said.
The matter was first reported at Lingaraj police station and referred to DCP Satyabrata Bhoi who initiated a probe by alerting the police of neighbouring districts.