Plight of girl inmates at Odhav children home: Panel report to Gujarat HC bares govt apathy

The division bench of HC, led by Chief Justice R Subhash Reddy, had constituted the committee — comprising R M Vohra, judge, family court and M K Chauhan, judge at city civil court — to visit the home and look into the condition of the children home. The order came while hearing a PIL moved by an NGO — Peace and Equality Cell — alleging ill-treatment of the girl inmates.

The report, a copy of which is with this paper, states that out of 20 girls, seven were found mentally challenged. Out of seven, give girls are kept with normal girls, while “two girls are 90 percent mentally challenged who are kept in a separate room…” The report states that the committee was informed that one of the mentally challenged girls, who is kept with normal girls, “is violent and throw tantrums. This girl is tied to a bed during night as twice she had tried to press the throat of two girls.”

The report says that some girls said that they fear for their lives due to such an arrangement. The report reveals that inmates are not given proper food, beds, clothes and sanitation facilities, among others. The report states that the quality of clothes was not good. It says, “The committee was shown a salwar which was made of transparent cloth which would expose the body.” Similarly, the committee didn’t find drinking water facility. The water cooler was found out of order and girls are compelled to drink tap water.

The inmates told the committee that they are forced to clean home and the bathroom and toilet are never cleaned by the sweepers properly. The buckets provided in the bathrooms are dirty and broken with no tumbler. The report states that the committee found dresses, bed sheets, pillow covers and raw clothes, but they were not given to the inmates.

The panel has summed up that the inmates are not served morning tea, the required milk for a girl above 12 years is not available, inmates are not given sweets on national and public festivals as required by schedule-II of the rules. It says that the official menu card is not maintained while serving food and there is no facility of vocational training. One TV for their entertainment doesn’t work properly and telecasts only Doordarshan channel.

The committee has said in the report that there is no wall clock and calendar, no fire safety, no periodical checking of electric equipment and fitting. It says that in-charge superintendent Jagruti Raval doesn’t reside in the quarters situated in the campus as required under the rules.