New Delhi: A former staffer of a night shelter run by the Delhi Urban Shelter Improvement Board (DUSIB) has alleged she was raped, molested, and threatened at the facility, located in the Subzi Mani area of North Delhi. The woman in her 20s has further alleged that a ‘mentally challenged’ resident at the shelter was also raped by one of the accused.
On the basis of her complaint, police have registered a case while Delhi Commission for Women (DCW) Chairperson Swati Maliwal has sent notices to Delhi Police and DUSIB seeking answers. Maliwal and some of the members of DCW visited the shelter after the victim had approached her. They came to know that nine 'mentally challenged' women live in the shelter home. Maliwal issued a notice to DUSIB over “serious lapses” being found in the shelter home and another notice to the Delhi Police over the rape of the inmate and the former staffer of the shelter home.
The shelter home is being run by NGO ‘Ashray Adhikar Abhiyan’. “It was seen that no restoration efforts were being undertaken by the shelter for the women, some of whom had been living in the shelter since 2014. It was found that proper case files were not maintained and there were no file notings or official records in any of the files,” it said.
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दिल्ली के एक नाइट शेल्टर में 9 मानसिक रोगी महिला रहती हैं। हमने विज़िट की तो शेल्टर संचालन में गम्भीर कमियाँ पाई। शेल्टर की पूर्व स्टाफ़ ने बताया की उसके & शेल्टर में रहने वाली महिला के साथ रेप हुआ है। मैंने DUSIB & दिल्ली पुलिस को नोटिस इशू कर तुरंत अरेस्ट & कार्यवाही माँगी है! pic.twitter.com/qok8nqJJbV
— Swati Maliwal (@SwatiJaiHind) March 26, 2022 " class="align-text-top noRightClick twitterSection" data="
">दिल्ली के एक नाइट शेल्टर में 9 मानसिक रोगी महिला रहती हैं। हमने विज़िट की तो शेल्टर संचालन में गम्भीर कमियाँ पाई। शेल्टर की पूर्व स्टाफ़ ने बताया की उसके & शेल्टर में रहने वाली महिला के साथ रेप हुआ है। मैंने DUSIB & दिल्ली पुलिस को नोटिस इशू कर तुरंत अरेस्ट & कार्यवाही माँगी है! pic.twitter.com/qok8nqJJbV
— Swati Maliwal (@SwatiJaiHind) March 26, 2022दिल्ली के एक नाइट शेल्टर में 9 मानसिक रोगी महिला रहती हैं। हमने विज़िट की तो शेल्टर संचालन में गम्भीर कमियाँ पाई। शेल्टर की पूर्व स्टाफ़ ने बताया की उसके & शेल्टर में रहने वाली महिला के साथ रेप हुआ है। मैंने DUSIB & दिल्ली पुलिस को नोटिस इशू कर तुरंत अरेस्ट & कार्यवाही माँगी है! pic.twitter.com/qok8nqJJbV
— Swati Maliwal (@SwatiJaiHind) March 26, 2022
The victim woman in her complaint to the police alleged that two people, including the officer at the night shelter, raped her on January 8. She claimed she had informed the director of the NGO, a woman, about the incident, but no action was taken. On January 23, a mentally ill girl, according to the victim, was also raped in the shelter home. Again, she claims, she had informed the director about the incident but was told to keep quiet.
The woman said that she was fired from her job on March 4 for raising her voice against it. After which she complained about the whole matter to the Women's Commission. While the police are investigating the matter, DCW, during their visit to the shelter found the place was not properly managed. The visiting panel said that proper health records of inmates were not being maintained even though all of them were prescribed medicines by the Institute of Human Behaviour and Allied Sciences (IHBAS).
The commission also observed that the shelter was being run by untrained staff and no SoPs were there to deal with the women and any emergencies arising at any time. It also found that the facility had no guard during the day. "When the commission entered the shelter at 6 pm, there was no one at the gate and no visitor registers were being maintained,” it said.
The Delhi Police has registered an FIR in the matter. However, no arrests have been made till now, the victim staffer has alleged. The commission has issued a notice to the DUSIB seeking a detailed action taken report on its observations. The commission has asked the DUSIB to provide file noting of the decisions under which this shelter home for mentally challenged persons was set up along with SoPs. It has sought copies of reports of inspections conducted by DUSIB officials of this shelter.
It has also asked for details of action taken against officials and NGO in the matter. The commission has also issued a notice to the Delhi Police seeking urgent arrests in the matter along with protection for the survivors. The authorities have been given time till 4 pm on March 28 for submission of the replies.
Also read: Hyderabad: Four men gang-rape a woman on the pretext of giving an auto-ride
