Dhenkanal/Bhubaneswar: An NGO-run shelter home was on Sunday sealed in Odisha’s Dhenkanal district in the wake of allegations of sexual abuse by its minor inmates, an official said.
The action came two days after District Child Protection Officer (DCPO) Anuradha Goswami and members of Child Welfare Committee (CWC) raided the shelter home, acting on media reports which stated that girls were being abused at the facility.
Dhenkanal Subdivisional Police Officer Abdul Karim said the owner of the home, Simanchal Nayak, and managing director Fayaz Rahman have been detained.
Nayak has, however, denied the allegations and said they had done so as he had tried to enforce discipline at the shelter home.
District collectors across the state have been asked to shut down all 22 branches of the shelter home, operated by NGO Good News India. Meanwhile, the inmates of the Dhenkanal shelter home – 47 girls and 34 boys – have been shifted to another childcare institution. (PTI)
