C'garh: Three women held for assaulting inmates at shelter home

Two days after the manager of ashelter home for women was arrested for allegedly raping aninmate, three women employees of the facility inChhattisgarh's Bilaspur district were nabbed on Saturday,police said.

The police have arrested three women staffers ofUjjawala Home, a government-aided shelter, on charges ofphysically assaulting inmates, said J P Gupta, station houseofficer (SHO) of Sarkanda police station here.

The trio, in their 20s, were arrested based on thestatements of three inmates, who were recently shifted out ofthe shelter, he said.

Ujjawala Home Bilaspur, run by NGO Shri ShivmangalShikshan Samiti since 2014, landed into controversy on January17, when a 20-year-old woman was allegedly denied to leave theshelter even as her husband reached the place to take her backhome.

The man then forcibly took his wife and reachedSarkanda police station where they lodged a case of wrongfulconfinement, voluntarily causing hurt and obscene acts againstthe shelter home staff.

Shelter home manager Jitendra Maurya also lodged acase against the womans family on charges of house trespassand obscene acts, he said.

Meanwhile, two other women inmates also reached thepolice station alleging physical and mental abuse of women atthe facility and they were also made complainants in the case,he said.

On January 19, the three women approached the mediastating that one of them was sexually assaulted by Maurya andother inmates were physically tortured by the staff, followingwhich they were called to record their statement before amagistrate on Thursday.

In their statements, one of them alleged that she wasraped by Maurya, following which he was arrested, he said.

Another woman also said that she and other inmateswas physically assaulted by the staff, based on which threewomen employees were apprehended, he said.

Further investigation into the matter is underway, headded.

The shelter home has been shut and seven other inmateshave been shifted to their homes and other governmentfacilities, another official said.