State child rights commission evacuated some 18 minor girls from a children’s home belonging to the Dera Sacha Sauda, authorities said on Tuesday, as state government continues its crackdown on the sect days after its head Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh was given 20 years of jail in two rape cases.
An official of the State Commission for Protection of Children Rights said that the girls — all between 2 and 14 years — will now undergo medical examination before they are moved to BalGram, a protection home of the Women and Child Development Department for girl children, Sonepat’s Rai.
The development came after commission chairperson Jyoti Bainda visited and issued written directions to Sirsa Deputy Commissioner Prabhjot Singh on Tuesday.
“I have come to know that 29 girls are residing in the Shahi Betiyan Basera in Sirsa. After due consideration of unavoidable circumstances in the Dera Sacha Sauda, you are directed to ensure the safety of girls on priority basis and take immediate steps to shifting (sic) them to some other protected place, ” Jyoti Bainda said in her orders, also asking for a report soon.
“We knew that the arrangements in the Dera for these girls were very good and that they were being provided education in the international school of the dera. However, considering the volatile situation there after the verdict against Dera chief Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh and the fact that the Shahi Betiyan Basera was not registered with the government, we decided to evacuate them, ” Jyoti said on Tuesday.
Some 11 girls, all aged over 18, were still at the Dera.
“The authorities have taken their consent in writing that they were living there of their own free will,” she said.
Authorities rescued 34 boys from another shelter home — Shahi Asra Basera — on Monday.
The commission had conducted inspections at the two shelters on August 20, and directed state police to ensure that the children they housed — 29 boys and 36 girls — were protected.
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