Madhya Pradesh Police have registered a case in connection with the alleged disappearance of 26 girls from a children’s home in Bhopal, a police official said on Saturday. According to police, investigation so far has revealed that the girls might have left Aanchal Children’s Home in Parwalia area after feeling homesick.
“Some girls who registered at the establishment return home for various reasons, including because they find the stay uninteresting. The investigation so far shows that they have returned home. This is being verified further,” Bhopal Superintendent of Police (Rural) Pramod said. Kumar Sinha was quoted by PTI as said in his video message.
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What was alleged?
Police on Thursday registered a first information report (FIR) at Parwaliya Sadak police station in Bhopal following a complaint filed by district program officer Ramgopal Yadav against one Anil Mathew for allegedly illegally running the children’s home.
According to the complaint, 26 of the 68 girls (ages 6 to 18) present at the establishment have disappeared, police said. The facility is approximately 20 kilometers from the district headquarters.
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The FIR was lodged under sections of the Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act, 2015, naming Anil Methew, the director of the children’s home, as accused, ANI reported.
Mathew has been booked under relevant sections of the Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act, 2015, the official said. “Mathew has so far failed to provide a registration certificate for the establishment he was running,” police said.
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Shivraj Singh Chouhan demands action
Former Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan has urged the Mohan Yadav-led parliamentary government to take action in the case of the alleged disappearance of 26 girls from an ‘illegal’ children’s home in the capital Bhopal .
“The case of disappearance of 26 girls from a children’s home operating without permission in Parwalia police station area of Bhopal has been brought to my notice,” Chouhan posted on X on Saturday. “Given the seriousness and sensitivity of this matter, I urge the government to become aware of it and take immediate action,” he added.
Girls forced to “practice the Christian religion”
National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR) chief Priyank Kanoongo wrote to the Madhya Pradesh chief secretary and claimed that children kept in this illegal shelter were being forced to practice Christianity.
“I inspected an illegal children’s home run by missionaries with the president and members of the National Commission for Children. The coordinating NGO until recently worked as a partner of the children’s shelter children, like a government agency,” Kanoongo said.
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He said: “Children are kept in a home that operates without authorization. They are kept secretly in a children’s home and forced to practice the Christian religion…The children are aged between six and 18 and the majority of them are Hindus,” Kanoongo added.
Bhopal Collector Kaushlendra Vikram Singh on Saturday suspended two officials and issued show cause notices against two others in connection with an illegally run children’s home in the state capital Bhopal, ANI reported.
The suspended officials have been identified as Brijendra Pratap Singh, currently posted in Ganjbasoda, Vidisha district (formerly posted in Women and Child Development Department, Bhopal) and Komal Upadhyay, posted as in-charge project at the Department of Women and Child Development, Bhopal.
Two other officials who were issued show cause notices have been identified as Sunil Solanki and Ramgopal Yadav, posted in the Women and Child Development Department, Bhopal.
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