NHRC notice to TN, police chief over complaints of sexual abuse of minor girls at shelter home

The NHRC has issued a notice to the Tamil Nadu government and the state's police chief over the rescue of 15 girls from a shelter home in Tiruvannamalai following complaints of sexual abuse against its incharge, officials said Friday. The National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) has observed that this is not the single incident of its kind which has come to its notice.

The commission said its has "taken suo motu cognisance of a media report that 15 minor girls have been rescued from a shelter home in Tiruvannamalai district following complaints of sexual abuse against the incharge of the home". "The incharge of the shelter home has been arrested under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act. The rescued girls have been shifted to a government facility and further investigation in the case is underway," the NHRC said.

The commission has observed that the content of the news report, if true, amounts to violation of human rights of the girls. Accordingly, it has issued notices to the chief secretary and the director general of police of Tamil Nadu seeking a detailed report in four weeks, including on action taken against the guilty and steps taken for relief, rehabilitation and counselling of the victims.

In the recent past, the commission has come across several incidents of such a nature, occurring in various parts of the country, where the girl inmates have been sexually abused in custody either by staff or the persons who run such homes, it said in a statement. "The incidents of sexual abuse of innocent minor girls at the hands of their custodian are shameful and also call for review of the monitoring mechanism by the state authorities," the NHRC said.

The police and the social welfare departments of the states have to come together to ensure strict compliance of the procedure laid down under law for running shelter homes, especially for the women, the commission said.

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