Child rights body issues notice to Police in sexual abuse case

Outer Delhi Police to furnish an action-taken report by March 26

The Delhi Commission for Protection of Child Rights has issued notices to the Outer Delhi Police and the Department of Women and Child Development in connection with allegations of sexual abuse of a minor girl by the head of an institution in Samaipur Badli.

DCPCR Member Madan Mohan Vidyarthi on Wednesday said: “Taking cognisance, we have issued a notice to the Outer Delhi Police to furnish an action-taken report by March 26 and also to inform whether they have invoked relevant provisions of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act.” A notice has also been issued to the Department of Women and Child Development (Delhi) to conduct an inquiry and ascertain whether the institution in question is registered.

In a related development, two of the girl inmates living in the same institution, whose head was arrested on Monday for allegedly sexually abusing a minor girl and subjecting her to child labour, on Wednesday told the Child Welfare Committee that the accused had never misbehaved with them.

“The institution is being run under a sponsorship programme and it provides educational and nutritional aide to the underprivileged children. Around 300 children, who stay with their families, are enrolled with the institution under this programme. The institution also has residential hostels for girls and boys and presently three girls and three boys are staying there. The boys are brothers of the girl who has accused the pastor of having sexually abused her,” said a Committee member, adding that the girls described the pastor as a benevolent and nice person.

The police, which had obtained one-day custody of the accused pastor, on Wednesday said during interrogation he denied having sexually abused the minor girl or any other person.

“The funding agency, which has reported the allegations of child labour and abuse of the girl after she alleged that the pastor had kept her at his residence as a domestic help, interviewed the other hostellers and did not come across any such complaints,” said an officer.

Although the CWC is yet to receive a copy of the complainant’s medical examination report, a police officer said it has not revealed any sexual intercourse with the victim “However, we are probing it as a rape case as its definition has now been widened. The newly enacted POCSO Act has also been invoked in this case,” he added.