TIRUCHY: The district administration on Thursday ordered nine major girls staying in Mose Ministries home be shifted to a government home in Thanjavur.
The nine, sources said, had violated Supreme Court order restraining them from having any contact with the founder of the home pastor Gideon Jacob.
Before officials from the social welfare department could arrive, all the nine escaped from the home. Sources said the girls had left a message that they were in Madurai to file a case.
The Mose Ministries home which has been operational since 1994 landed in trouble in 2015 when an inspection by Child Welfare Committee (CWC) revealed that the centre was not registered under Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act.
Nearly 89 girls were staying in the home.
Following this, a case was registered against the founder Pastor Gideon Jacob (62). Jacob was arrested by the CBI in Chennai, upon his arrival from Germany, on October 28, 2017, and charged with trafficking and wrongful confinement.
The High Court ordered the home and church he ran to be sealed.
Based on the High Court’s order, the then district collector K Rajamani on January 06, 2018 ordered the relocation of 86 girls (three girls had left the home by then) to Nagammaiyar home and Annai Ashram in Tiruchy.
But the girls refused and moved the Supreme Court.
On November 15, 2018, the Supreme Court allowed the girls to stay in Mose Ministries home under the supervision of the district social welfare department.
The inmates were directed not to have any contact with pastor Gideon Jacob, who is on bail. A violation would result in inmates shifted to government homes.
District social welfare officer Thamimunisha, said, “Without informing us, nine of the girls had gone to Chennai for three days in October to purchase Deepavali dress for all inmates.
It was found that the girls were given money by Mose Ministries for the expenses.
Also, they had contacted Pastor Gideon Jacob, which is a violation of Supreme Court order. So we informed the district collector to shift the nine girls to government service home in Thanjavur.”
On Thursday when officials arrived, the nine girls were missing.