Lucknow: Four staff members of a government-run juvenile home for girls in Uttar Pradesh’s Saharanpur were booked by the district authorities Thursday, following allegations of sexual harassment and mistreatment of inmates, ThePrint has learnt.
The services of the four have been terminated and an FIR registered under sections 323 (voluntarily causing hurt), 504 (intentional insult to provoke) and 506 (criminal intimidation) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) and sections 7 and 12 of the Prevention of Corruption Act. ThePrint has a copy of the FIR.
District authorities told ThePrint that the four accused were part of an NGO which had been roped in by the government to manage the juvenile home.
The action was taken following a hunger strike by the inmates Thursday.
According to reports in the local media, the inmates had first shared their allegations with sub-divisional magistrate (SDM) Kirti Raj on 20 May, when she had visited the juvenile home for an inspection. The inmates, including juveniles, had reportedly told her that they were being served bad food, being mistreated and beaten up the superintendent, identified in the reports as Pinki (first name only) and harassed by the home’s manager, V.P. Singh.
Following the complaints, district magistrate Dinesh Chandra reportedly formed a three-member inquiry committee, which included SDM Raj, to look into the allegations. The panel submitted a report on the matter on 31 May.
“According to the report of the SDM, the superintendent is immediately removed from service and the behaviour of the manager, V.P. Singh, too has been objectionable and condemnable… Hence, please lodge an FIR against superintendent Pinki, manager V.P. Singh, housekeeping staffer Ravi and cook Murti Devi,” reads the FIR.
DM Chandra told the media Saturday that he had asked Saharanpur senior superintendent of police (SSP) Vipin Tada to get the matter investigated by a team of women officers.
“I have asked the SSP to get the matter investigated by female officers who can get information of all facts, so that strict action can be taken. At our level, we have taken action and got an FIR lodged. Those who resorted to misbehaviour have been removed from service,” he said.
In a statement issued on Twitter Sunday, Saharanpur police said that an FIR has been lodged against the accused based on a complaint from the district probation officer and a female circle officer is leading a probe. “Action is being taken based on evidence,” it said.
ThePrint reached SSP Saharanpur for comment over phone. The report will be updated once a response is received.
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‘Abused us, indulged in obscene acts with small girls’
A group of media personnel also visited the juvenile home Saturday and spoke to the inmates, who reportedly repeated their allegations of sexual harassment and mistreatment against the four staff members, ThePrint has learnt.
In purported videos recorded by the media and seen by ThePrint, the inmates — whose identities were not disclosed — are heard accusing the four of a range of maltreatment, including sexual harassment and physical abuse. The authenticity of these videos could not be established, however.
“V.P. Singh has been indulging in eve-teasing here. He would indulge in obscene acts with small girls,” one of the inmates is heard saying in the videos being circulated.
A second inmate alleged that the manager would also verbally abuse the girls. “He would call us bitches. And said ‘keep barking’,” she is heard saying.
The girl also alleged that the superintendent, Pinki “removed her clothes and videographed her and showed the video to her family members too”.
A third inmate is heard repeating the allegation of eve-teasing against Singh, as the first one added “He also beats the girls very badly”.
A fourth inmate can be heard saying that the girls were not getting good food at the facility.
(Edited by Nida Fatima Siddiqui)
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