Rohtak, May 11: Children living at a shelter run by an NGO here were sexually abused, beaten, molested and made to work as labourers on farms and construction sites, a raid by the National Commission for Protection of Child Rights has uncovered.
The girls recounted tales of horror during the raid on Wednesday night at the shelter run by NGO Bharat Vikas Sangh, which won a Haryana state award for women's empowerment in March this year.
Around 12 girls in their teens, alleged they were exploited by the owner, Jaswanti, to earn money; one of them said she was forced to sleep with a man. "We were molested by various people. If any girl protested, she would be paraded naked and beaten. Jaswanti forced us to work as labourers and snatched our wages," they said.
Jaswanti Devi, who has been running the Rohtak children shelter, and her son-in-law, Jai Bhagwan, have been arrested for exploiting children. Jai Bhagwan has been booked for sexual harassment and molestation of the inmates.
"Inmates were locked up for 3-4 days without food or any other facility if they protested. She (Jaswanti) forced us to earn money for her," said one.
The raid came on a tip from three girls who had escaped to Delhi and told their families of their sufferings at the shelter. The girls had, in fact, been shifted to the Rohtak home from an "orphanage" in Gurgaon following allegations of sexual abuse there.
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