The horror stories emanating from Apna Ghar, the state-run home for children in distress or in conflict with the law, and women in need of shelter, continue with painful regularity.
And if the stories narrated by yet another hapless child victim, now turned adult, to the media in Vasco, where a local NGO found her near the railway station, is true, then this makes a serious case for criminal action against those who manage Apna Ghar and are paid to keep the inmates safe.
The story we reported in our Wednesday edition, was chilling. Here we have a girl who was abandoned as a child, adopted by a kind soul, but later drawn to begging for survival. She was then “rescued” and sent to Apna Ghar from where she escaped twice. But the stories she narrated about her days at Apna Ghar, were unimaginable. She said that she and other children were caged in a room, brought out to clean and sweep and then locked back, abused, and kept hungry.
Just pause for a moment and absorb the memories that this girl lives with. Apna Ghar sounds more like a torture home than a home for shelter, solace and affection. The word care doesn’t seem to be applicable at all in the way these children are treated.
The story of this girl, gives us another pointer. While we have indeed focussed on how Apna Ghar kids have escaped from the home and indulged in criminal activity, there may be more cases where children have escaped from the sheer torture that this girl who spoke to journalists in Vasco, alleged. If this is indeed not a one off case but a trend, then we would go so far as to state that the so called reform home needs to shut.
The Women and Child Development Minister Vishwajit Rane, has indicated he wants to take a relook at the efficacy of continuing with a tainted, sullied home where acts bordering on criminal ones are allegedly perpetrated by the staff.
Clearly, if Apna Ghar cannot be run according to the principles on which it was set up and if children, already vulnerable, are exposed to such torture, then the following have to be done immediately:
a) Pending all inquiries, Apna Ghar should be closed down and the children sent to shelters and other places run by reputed NGOs after thorough verification.
b) A thorough inquiry to be ordered based on investigations and statements of inmates, about allegations of torture and punishment meted out to children there.
c) An immediate suspension of all the staff in Apna Ghar pending all investigations.
d) An inquiry to also ascertain if there has been any negligence at the level of Director Women and Child Development and above, in ensuring the protection of the protective home and its inmates.
e) Fix responsibility on those accountable for the non-implementation of the critical Levinson Martins committee report, which made important recommendations for the functioning of Apna Ghar.
This is a basic five-point action plan that needs to be followed. Post these processes Apna Ghar can be re-opened in its new avatar, with new rules and guidelines and a new team in place which will implement all the recommendations and guidelines for the functioning of the institution.
But to start with, an FIR must be lodged based on the statement of the girl who spoke to the media in Vasco, and those in Apna Ghar accused of torture and intimidation should be picked up for questioning and to allow a fair investigation.
