26 girls rescued from MP shelter home go missing again
Bhopal: At least 26 girls living in an illegally run shelter home in Bhopal, the capital of Madhya Pradesh, have been reported missing. The girls were rescued from various states like Gujarat, Jharkhand and Rajasthan besides Madhya Pradesh and brought to Bhopal.
The matter came to light when National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR) Chairman Priyank Kanungo paid a surprise visit to Aanchal Girls Hostel located in Parwalia area on the outskirts of Bhopal.
After a surprise check, Kanungo claimed that they found that it had entries of 68 girls, but 26 of them were missing. “When shelter home director Anil Mathew was questioned about the missing girls, he did not give a satisfactory answer. An FIR has been registered by the police in the matter,” Kanungo said.
He further claimed that a missionary, who was managing the children’s home, had rescued some children from the streets and was running the shelter home without any license. The NCPCR chairman also alleged that the rescued people were secretly kept in a children’s home and were made to practice Christianity.
“Most girls between the age of 6 to 18 are Hindus. After much effort, the police have registered the FIR. Unfortunately, officials of the Women and Child Development Department of Madhya Pradesh want to run child helplines on contract with such NGOs,” he said.
Former Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan reacted to this and said that he would urge the Madhya Pradesh government to take strict action against those responsible.
