E-Paper
26 girls missing from Bhopal children's home, Shivraj Chouhan demands action; NCPCR chief alleges ‘conversion’
NCPCR chief Priyank Kanoongo claimed the girls were kept in the illegal children home and made to practice Christianity.
Former Madhya Pradesh chief minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan on Saturday urged the Mohan Yadav government to take action in the case pertaining to the disappearance of 26 girls from an illegal children's home in capital Bhopal.
"The case of the disappearance of 26 girls from a children's home operating without permission in Parwalia police station area of Bhopal has come to my notice," Chouhan said in a post on X.
"Considering the seriousness and sensitivity of the matter, I urge the government to take cognisance and take immediate action," he added.
A first information report (FIR) has been registered at Parwaliya Sadak Police Station in Bhopal under sections of the Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act, 2015 naming an individual named Anil Methew, the manager of the children's home, as an accused, ANI reported.
Out of the 68 girls registered at the home, between 6-18 years of age, 26 have been reported missing, the FIR stated, adding that the home was not being operated under the Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act, 2015 and was unregistered.
National Commission for the Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR) chief Priyank Kanoongo has written to the Madhya Pradesh chief secretary regarding the matter.
In a post on social media X, Kanoongo alleged that the children kept in this illegal shelter home are forced to practice Christianity.
“An illegal children's home run by missionaries was inspected by me along with the chairperson and members of the state children's commission. The coordinating NGO had been working as child line partner like a government agency till recently. The children are being kept in the home that is running operations without license. The children are aged between six and 18 and majority of them are Hindus,” Kanoongo added.
“With a lot of difficulty, the police registered an FIR. Unfortunately, the officials of Madhya Pradesh's women and child welfare department want to run child helpline on contract with the help of such NGOs,” the NCPCR chief added.
