BJP urge WCD min to form panel seeking inspection of shelter homes in Delhi

Delhi BJP leader Vijender Gupta has urged Union Women and Child Development Minister Maneka Gandhi to form a special task force to carry out "in-depth inspection" of shelter homes for women and girls in the national capital.

His request comes a day after Delhi Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia suspended two senior officials of the Women and Child Development Department for laxity in duty after eight women and a minor girl was reported missing from a shelter home in east Delhi.

The Delhi Commission for Women has claimed that the matter came to light on December 2, six months after the inmates had gone missing. The same day Delhi Police registered an FIR in connection with the matter.

Gupta, the leader of opposition in Delhi Assembly, said the mere suspension of the district officer and the shelter home superintendent was inadequate to bring any positive change at these facilities.

He said the case indicates the city government and the DCW have failed in ensuring the safety of inmates in shelter homes.

"A special task force should be formed to carry out an in-depth inspection of every shelter home in Delhi. There must be an investigation of the facilities provided, the security measures and rehabilitation programmes being undertaken by shelter homes," he said.

The expert committee set up by DCW chief Swati Maliwal has failed to conduct a detailed social audit of shelter homes in Delhi after cases of alleged sexual abuse at such homes came to light in Bihar and Uttar Pradesh earlier this year, Gupta claimed.