Tales of horror have emerged from an orphanage at Indore in Madhya Pradesh after the inmates, all minor girls aged between four and 14, alleged that they were abused in horrifying ways in the name of punishment. From being branded with hot tongs to being hung upside down and forced to inhale smoke from burning red chillies, the children narrated their ordeal to the Child Welfare Committee during an inspection.
The local administration has sealed the facility while an FIR has been registered against five women for allegedly ill-treating children in the name of punishment.
Jain Welfare Society, the NGO running the facility, said it is a hostel and not an orphanage, and filed a habeas corpus petition in the Madhya Pradesh High Court challenging the action. It denied all allegations mentioned in the FIR. Called “Vatsalyapuram”, the facility is located in the Vijayanagar area. On January 12, it was sealed for alleged illegal operation while the inmates were moved to the state-run child protection home and another institution.
What does the FIR say?
According to the police, the children told the Child Welfare Committee (CWC) that they were tortured in the name of punishment. In the FIR lodged on the night of January 17, it was mentioned that a four-year-old girl was beaten up for wearing dirty clothes, locked in the bathroom for several hours and not given food for two days.
It was also alleged in the FIR that children were hung upside down and forced to inhale smoke from red chillies kept on a hot pan below. Two children were branded with hot tongs at the hands of a minor girl and one girl was taken to a furnace after being stripped in front of other kids and threatened that she will be burnt.
What does the NGO say?
Vibhor Khandelwal, a counsel for the private NGO, told PTI: “Vatsalayapuram is not an orphanage but a standalone hostel where children from economically weaker families are taken care of for an annual fee of just Rs 5.”
Khandelwal said the administration had “unauthorisedly” sealed Vatsalyapuram and norms and due process of the law were not followed while moving the inmates to another institutions. He said the habeas corpus petition has sought that the children be handed over to the hostel administration or their parents.
A habeas corpus writ is used to seek release of a person from unlawful detention or imprisonment.
Khandelwal also rejected the allegations mentioned in the FIR. “Five women associated with the orphanage have been named in the FIR registered under relevant provisions of the Indian Penal Code and the Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act,” Vijay Nagar police station sub-inspector Kirti Tomar said.
Tomar further said investigation into these allegations is still at an early stage. “The children who were rescued from the orphanage are natives of Rajasthan and Gujarat,” said CWC chairperson Pallavi Porwal.
She added: “We have written to the Child Welfare Committees of these states asking them to ascertain the socio-economic background of these children and submit a report to us so that they can be rehabilitated.”
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