EXCLUSIVE: Women harassed, deprived of medical care, says former Ujjwala staff

In an exclusive interview with ETV Bharat, former staff of Ujjwala shelter home said that women inmates are sexually and physically harassed and are not given proper treatment.

Bilaspur: After the manager of a shelter home for women was arrested in Bilaspur district of Chhattisgarh for allegedly raping one of its inmates, one of the old staffs spoke to ETV Bharat about how women were tortured and abused here.

The staff, who was associated with shelter home as a Project Officer in the past, was responsible for counselling women. She said that women who were kept in shelter home were tortured and were subjected to mental and physical abuse.

She added, "Women were held hostage and were not given proper treatment. When I joined Ujjwala shelter home, it was extremely cold. Women were not allowed to venture out and they started falling sick. Women and their newborn babies were not given medical attention and the management turned a blind eye to it."

Responding to the recent allegation of the women who had accused staff of sexual harassment, the former staff said, "A victim was not allowed to meet her family and the manager used explicit language against her. I asked Jitendra Maurya, the operator of the shelter home not to abuse her, but it was in vain. He used to drink liquor in the shelter home premises and used to sexually harass women."

The former staffer said that she was pressurised to leave her job as she did not go according to the wishes of the operator and no one came forward to help her.

A 19-year-old victim along with two other women, who were recently shifted out of the shelter home, accused its staff of indulging in sexual and physical abuse against the inmates.

"The statements of the three women were recorded before a magistrate under section 164 of the CrPC on Thursday, during which one of them stated that she was raped by shelter manager Jitendra Maurya," Bilaspur Superintendent of Police Prashant Agrawal said.

Another woman alleged that she was physically assaulted by the shelter staff, he said. Based on the statement, Maurya was arrested and further investigation into the matter is underway, he added.