Children were paraded before outsiders: Report

It was not just the alleged sexual abuse by other inmates and staff members at Arya orphanage in Daryaganj — the boys and girls were even paraded before outsiders. Neelam Pandey & Faizan Haider report. The dark tale

It was not just the alleged sexual abuse by other inmates and staff members at Arya orphanage in Daryaganj — the boys and girls were even paraded before outsiders.

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A number of inmates have told the police that outsiders used to come to the orphanage quite often and the staff used to ask girls to serve them. Police are now investigating the possibility of a sex racket being run from the orphanage.

When the representatives of the NGO and police met Vidya (name changed), 13, she said she was once asked by a woman staffer to serve water to an outsider. When she did, the staffer asked the outsider if he found Vidya beautiful. Vidya also added that the women staff used to watch pornography inside the orphanage.

Interaction with Mohan (name changed), a student of class 5, also revealed sordid tales of sexual abuse.

“According to him, the condition in the orphanage is very bad. There is a lot of physical and sexual violence happening inside the boys hostel. He shared his experience about a time when he was sodomised by an older boy. According to him, he reported the incident to the warden but no action was taken,” stated the report by NGO Haq.

The report stated that many young boys were subjected to sexual abuse by the older boys. Toilets of the orphanage have surfaced as one of the major areas where most of the inmates used to be sexually abused.

“I was afraid of the building guard as he used to stop girls and pass lewd comments. He along with other boys used to stand at the stairs and tease and molest us,” anothe victim said.

Another girl has revealed that the guard had duplicate keys to several rooms, which he used to access at any time.

The police and NGO said the girls were eager to talk to them but feared getting into trouble. Despite talking to children individually, the police said they need official complaints from child rights body or government to take action against the orphanage staff.

“Haq report is baseless. It is merely vindictive in nature. We have already applied for renewal of our license under Women’s and Children Institutions Licensing Act and had applied for registration in Juvenile Justice Act. The issue is pending before high court,” said Nitin Chaudhary, secretary, Arya orphanage.

This orphanage also housed the teenage girl who brought the battered baby to AIIMS on January 18. She had reportedly lived there for some time.