BHOPAL: A surprise inspection by teams of the National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR) and Madhya Pradesh State Commission for Protection of Child Rights has led to a children’s home being illegally run on the outskirts of the state capital Bhopal. The January 4 inspection by the team led by NCPCR chairperson Priyanka Kanoongo revealed that 41 girls (aged between 6 years and 17 years) were residing in the Anchal Bal Griha in Parwalia Sadak area of rural Bhopal.
During the inspection, it was noted that 26 girls were missing while their names were still there on the shelter home's register. Later, it was found that the girls were all back safe at their homes after staying for a while at the shelter home. The 41 girls currently residing at the children's home hailed from various districts of MP, including tribal-dominated Mandla, Balaghat, Chhindwara, Sehore, Raisen and Vidisha districts, besides Rajasthan, Jharkhand and Gujarat.
According to reports, the shelter was not registered and the children were kept there without permission from the Child Welfare Committee.
Shelter director Anil Mathew has been booked under Sections 34, 42 and 75 of the Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act 2015 following a complaint from the Commission.
According to the MP State Commission for Protection of Child Rights member Nivedita Sharma, who was part of the team that conducted the surprise inspection on January 4, “The interaction with girls residing at the home revealed that while 6-7 girls were from Christian and Muslim communities, the remaining girls were Hindus, mostly hailing from scheduled caste and scheduled tribe families. One of the girls told the team that the children’s home staff made them perform Christian prayers.”