E-Paper
Ex-armyman, 71, accused of rape and sodomy by differently-abled inmates of Bhopal hostel
Two FIRs were registered by the police - one by the four minor boys regarding alleged sodomy charges and the other by two women of 22 years and 24 years regarding alleged rape.
Another horror story of abuse unfolded in Bhopal Friday night after seven inmates of a hostel for differently-abled young people run by a retired soldier lodged complaints of rape and sodomy.
Three FIRs were registered at two police stations against the 71-year-old accused who was arrested late Friday night, said police.
There are 70 students in the hostel. The Madhya Pradesh social justice department will decide soon whether to shut down the hostel or not.
Additional superintendent of police, Bhopal Sanjay Sahu said two FIRs were registered in one police station - one by four minor boys who alleged sodomy and the other by two women (22 years and 24 years old) alleging rape.
It later transpired that accused could be a repeat offender with one of the two women who filed an FIR said she had been abused earlier in another hostel the accused ran in Hoshangabad, 75 km south of Bhopal.
“The retired army man has been running the hostel for the past 28 years in Bhopal for the students of class 1 to 8. He also used to run a hostel in Hoshangabad but it was closed down in 2017 after one of the women lodged a complaint of harassment against him with the district administration,” said Sahu.
There is no age limit for the differently-abled people to attend the classes.
“The accused threatened the complainants with dire consequences and asked them not to share their ordeal with anyone. The victims are traumatised. We are investigating the matter and will also register statements of other hostel inmates,” said police.
Earlier Friday afternoon, the four boys lodged a complaint with social justice department of MP government before they went to the police station. Sahu said the statements of victims were registered with the help of an interpreter.
“In 2017, a girl from Hoshangabad lodged a complaint of harassment against the accused with district collector and after inquiring into the matter, the hostel was blacklisted by the district administration. However, no FIR was lodged in this connection. The entire matter should be inquired thoroughly,” said Congress media in-charge Shobha Oza, who had gone to one of the police stations to insist that FIRs be lodged.
Last month, the director of a private hostel was arrested by police in Bhopal for allegedly raping two speech and hearing impaired tribal girls and molesting two other inmates.
