Kaimur stay home shut, girls shifted

Patna: A short stay home for girls in Kaimur district was shut down and inmates shifted to another shelter home on Friday after complaints of sexual harassment and lack of basic amenities were found to be true during investigation.

Kaimur district magistrate (DM) Nawal Kishore Choudhary said on Friday that a total of 21 girl residents of the short stay home at Lalapur under Kudra block in the district were shifted to the Ara-based shelter home.

Choudhary said the shelter home was shut as it didn’t fulfil the requisite criteria.

Some inmates of the shelter home run by a non-government organisation – Gram Sauraj Seva Sansthan – had complained of sexual harassment and being deprived of proper food and lodging. They had alleged they were being treated as prisoners in jail and not as human being.

The district magistrate took a serious note of the complaints of the girl residents and ordered an investigation. The preliminary report suggested that the security arrangements at the shelter home were not up to the mark and the rooms were in a dilapidated condition. “The kitchen was not found in hygienic condition. Food being served to the inmates was contaminated. Even clothes were not provided properly to the girls staying there,” said an official quoting the preliminary report.

The district magistrate announced to set up a new shelter home for girls in the district soon. He directed the officials concerned to search for the land and submit a proposal at the earliest. “The new shelter home will have all the requisite facilities,” he told reporters in Bhabua, the district headquarters of Kaimur.

Sources said a police complaint was earlier lodged in connection with the sexual harassment of the girl inmates. However, no action was taken by the police. “The matter remained under wraps for the reason best known to them,” said a local resident.

Courtesy: The Telegraph