BERHAMPUR: Days after being rescued from an alleged begging racket and moved to a government-run children’s shelter home in Berhampur’s Gosaninuagaon area, two minor girls were found missing from the facility on Saturday.
Sources said a total of nine children including these two girls were recently rescued by police while they were begging at crowded streets in the city. Following their rescue, seven of the minors were sent to a correctional home while the remaining two girls were moved to Utkal Balashram on the instructions of the Child Welfare Committee.
Five persons were also arrested on charges of running this racket. However, just a day after being admitted to the Balashram, the two minor girls reportedly managed to escape by jumping the boundary wall of the facility.
The incident occurred during the daytime despite presence of childcare workers and security guards on the premises. Following the incident, superintendent of the children’s home Sasmita Padhi lodged a complaint with Gosaninuagaon police.
“The circumstances under which the two minors fled are still under investigation. One of the girls is reported to be 12 years while the other is around 11 years old. However, we cannot confirm their ages as they didn’t have any document to support them,” she said.
Police said they have registered a case and launched an investigation into the matter. The repeated incidents of children escaping from the Balashram has raised concern on the security arrangements at the facility. Last year, two girls had escaped from the facility in a similar fashion but their whereabouts remain unknown even till date.