26 girls missing from MP NGO center, rescued; 3 officers suspended

Bhopal: Twenty six girl children, inmates of a rescue Centre here run by an NGO, were found missing, triggering uproar.

Police on Saturday sprang to action after the incident was brought to light by the state child rights protection commission, and traced all the 26 ‘missing’ girl children in and around Bhopal city.

“Preliminary investigation has suggested that the ‘missing’ 26 girl children have in fact returned to their respective homes when they did not feel comfortable in the shelter home”, Bhopal district superintendent of police Pramod Kumar Sinha said.

He however said that statements of these children are being taken and action will be taken in the case based on their statements.

The SP said that there were no reports of physical or sexual assault on these girl children at the Centre.

Helpless girls, found in the railway stations, bus stands and other places, are rescued and put in the ‘Children Home’ run by an NGO, Anchal Missionary.

The state child rights protection commission members raided the shelter home on Friday and found that of the 61 girl children registered in the shelter home, 26 were missing.

The commission has also found that the shelter home is being run illegally by the NGO.

The NGO management has been booked for running the shelter home illegally, police said on Saturday.

In a related development, chairman of the National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR) Priyank Kanungo has taken serious note of the issue and sought a report from the chief secretary of Madhya Pradesh government on the incident.

Taking prompt action in the matter, the state government on Saturday evening suspended two project officers and a supervisor of state women and child welfare department in connection with the incident.