Shifted to different shelter homes; 4 inmates attempt to escape, 1 die

The Haryana government's decision to segregate and transfer the inmates of the controversial Rohtak-based shelter home Apna Ghar to other shelter homes across the state has not proved to be wise. In the last seven months, ever since the alleged Apna Ghar scandal came to light and the inmates were shifted out of the shelter home, at least four have attempted to escape their respective shelter homes. While one had died under mysterious circumstances, another allegedly fell from the roof. A deaf and mute inmate also gave birth to a child, confirming sexual abuse.

The National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR), which allegedly blew the lid off the scandal by raiding Apna Ghar in May, had recommended that all the inmates should be kept together and not segregated. However, citing its inexperience to handle such inmates, the Rohtak district administration shifted all the inmates out of Apna Ghar and lodged them in various shelter homes.

In a recent case, two inmates, Munni and Pooja, had allegedly escaped from a shelter home in Gandhinagar. Both are key witnesses in the Apna Ghar scandal. While Munni was traced in Assam and brought back to Rohtak by a Haryana Police team, Pooja is yet to be traced.

On November 6, another inmate, Puja, had gone missing from a Panipat-based shelter home. She was finally found in Hisar. According to the police, Puja had escaped the shelter home to trace her lost parents.

Another Apna Ghar inmate gave birth to a child, while she was lodged at a shelter home in Bhiwani. The inmate is currently living at the shelter home with her child in Bhiwani.

According to the police, the child is an evidence that the inmate was sexually abused, while she was at Apna Ghar. A CBI team had also obtained DNA samples of the inmate and her child to match it with the Apna Ghar case accused, who are in police custody.

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