Bilaspur: 3 Women Accuse Shelter Home Staff Of Sexual Assault

Three women from Bilaspur shelter home alleged that they were mistreated and sexually assaulted by the staff of a government-aided shelter home. The allegations were made against the staff of the NGO Shiv Mangal Shikshan which runs the Ujjawala home.

A 20-year-old woman alleged that she was detained against her will even when she begged the staff members to let her go home to her 8-month-old daughter. Along with the 20-year-old woman, two other women have alleged sexual assault. They have also claimed that the staff of the NGO is running a sex racket. Their claims are yet not confirmed.

The 20-year-old alleged that on January 17, when she attempted to escape the shelter home, she was touched inappropriately and assaulted by Jitendra Maurya, manager of the Ujjawal shelter home. Another complainant, who is 19 years old, alleged that the inmates were being drugged by mixing tablets in their tea and water.

The women along with their families approached the police on January 17 but were allegedly abused and threatened by the police officials. The women further alleged that they were pressured while recording their statements. An FIR under bailable sections was registered against unidentified people on the basis of the complaint, however, the police officials have not got any medical tests done for the female complainants.

The women have now directed another application to Bilaspur range IG Ratan Lal Dangi. The police have said that the women's allegations will now be recorded in presence of the district magistrate on Thursday.

Jitendra Mourya, President of Shiv Mangal Shikshan Samiti, told The Indian Express that the allegations by the women are false and have no grounds. He has also got an FIR registered against a woman's family alleging that they barged into his house and used obscene language.

Ujjawala is a scheme under the government-sponsored umbrella scheme 'Protection and Empowerment of Women' started by the Ministry of Women and Child Development.

National Crimes Record Bureau’s (NCRB) annual “Crime in India-2018” report found that cases of sexual harassment at shelter homes have increased by 30 percent between 2017 and 2018. The state of Uttar Pradesh has the maximum number of sexual harassment cases at 288. It was followed by Maharashtra (161), Andhra Pradesh (62), Madhya Pradesh (61) and Haryana (49). Read about the report here.

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