THE JHARKHAND STORY NETWORK
Daltonganj, Dec 1: Booked under the POCSO Act, Palamu girl shelter home operator Ram Pratap Gupta (72) and woman counsellor Priyanka Kumari (26) were sent to judicial custody on Sunday.
The shelter home office was sealed and inmates, a little over two dozen, were shifted to a government building near the Daltonganj town.
Notably, the shelter home was operated through the Social Welfare Department. For the last three years, Vikas International, an NGO, was given the responsibility of running it.
The accused Ram Pratap Gupta is the secretary of this NGO. The minor girl whom Ram Pratap has allegedly raped is a resident of the Naxal-affected area of the district. She does not have parents. A youth from the same village had raped her, after which she was brought to the shelter home two years ago. The victim’s younger sister also lived here with her. The younger sister died in June. One of her brothers lives in the Bal Griha.
What is the case?
The girls living in the Balika Griha operated in Sudana of Medininagar, the headquarters of Palamu district, have been sexually abused. 28 girls live in the Balika Griha, out of which two girls have accused Ram Pratap Gupta of sexual abuse. The girls used to call Ram Pratap Dada Ji. After the matter came to light, the police team investigated the matter for hours on Saturday. The police found the allegations of the girls to be true.
After this, Gupta along with the woman counsellor was taken into custody by the police.
ASP Rakesh Singh said that the sexual abuse of the girls has been proven to be true in the investigation. After this, an FIR was registered against the operator and the counsellor and action was taken.
How did it come to light?
It is noteworthy that on Friday, a team of human rights organisation went to see the arrangements of the Balika Griha under the leadership of President Sandhya Singh. During this time, the girls talked about sexual exploitation.
According to the girls, the house of the accused Ram Pratap Gupta is in Bank Colony near the Balika Griha. One girl said that Ram Pratap took her to his house twice between Diwali and Chhath. During this time, he had physical relations with the girl. The second girl said that the operator had tried to do wrong with her too.
As soon as the case of sexual exploitation of girls in the Balika Griha came to light, the police took it seriously. Some girls living in the Balika Griha have now crossed the age of 18. During interrogation, the girls told the police that to get out of the Balika Griha, a condition was put in front of them to please the officers. It has also been found in the investigation that a female worker of the Balika Griha has also taken some photos of the girls and sent them to someone.
