24 girls rescued from a private shelter home in UP’s Deoria, 15 girls missing
UP police on Sunday arrested a couple and their daughter and rescued 24 girls from a shelter home in Deoria district after its license was cancelled following an inspection by the CBI. As many as 10 to 15 girls have also been stated to be missing. Deoria police learnt that the girls were forced into prostitution and they are investigating the matter.
The arrested couple were running the shelter home. The couple’s daughter used to look after the management of this place, police said. According to police, the shelter home was running illegally after its license had been revoked.
The matter opened up when a girl escaped from the shelter home and reached woman police station where she narrated before the officials on duty how they were treated like servants and made to do household chores. The police said that the girl also revealed that girls who had attained 15-18 years of age were forced into prostitution.
Superintendent of Police Rohan P Kanay said that the institution’s director Girija Tripathi, her spouse and their daughter have been arrested.
He said, “When our team visited the shelter home its staff misbehaved with them. Our team had gone there when the order to close this institution was made. The shelter home had been declared illegal. When a girl escaped from the shelter home, we came to know about the reality of the place. 24 girls have been rescued so far.”
SP said that when the District Probationary Officer had visited this shelter home he had found some irregularities. It was after this an FIR was also lodged, he added.
“We then became suspicious that something was wrong. The girl who escaped from the shelter home has apprised us that girls who attain 15-18 years of age are forced into prostitution. She told us that cars used to come and pick up girls. They (girls) then used to return the next day weeping all the time. We then conducted raids at three-four places on Sunday and rescued 24 girls. Another 10-15 children are missing and there is no trace of them”, Kanay said while talking to the mediapersons during a press conference late on Sunday.
He added that it would be inquired upon from Girija Tripathi about the status of the missing children.
He also mentioned that the shelter home had been declared illegal after irregularities were detected.
Girija Tripathi denied all charges, minutes before she got arrested.
Updated : Aug 6, 2018 at 13:32 IST
By EP Web Desk
