Rajkot: Police in Madhapar of Kutch west lodged a complaint against a house mother of an SOS Children’s Village shelter home for allegedly subjecting minor inmates to extreme physical and mental abuse, including beating eight boys (all under 14 years), hurling profanities and smearing human excrement on their faces.An FIR was registered at Madhapar Police Station Friday, following a written complaint submitted by Vipul Doriya, District Child Protection Officer (DCPO), District Child Protection Unit, Kutch-Bhuj. Doriya recorded statements of all abuse victims and submitted them to the police.According to the complaint, the alleged abuse occurred throughout May at the facility located near Bhujodi overbridge at Gada village in Bhuj taluka.The accused, Latifa Begum, served as a house mother responsible for the day-to-day care of the sheltered children. The DCPO stated that an inquiry was launched after his office received an email regarding the matter on Oct 5.Preliminary inquiry revealed that Latifa repeatedly beat young and helpless children over minor issues, subjected them to foul verbal abuse, and allegedly went so far as to throw human feces on their faces. The complaint stated that the minors had been living in severe trauma and distress.The complainant also highlighted gross negligence and complicity by the institution’s management. Despite being aware of the situation, shelter authorities allegedly refrained from lodging a police complaint and merely transferred the woman while initiating an internal probe that remained inconclusive.Police have booked Latifa and others who are found responsible during the course of investigation.The FIR was registered under BNS sections for voluntarily causing hurt, obscene acts or words in a public place, and assault or use of criminal force, along with sections of the Juvenile Justice Act, which deal with cruelty to children and corporal punishment in child-care institutions.The facility, set up after the 2001 earthquake by a non-govt organisation and registered under Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act, 2015, has designated boys’ and girls’ homes, housing orphaned, destitute, and needy children placed there by Child Welfare Committee (CWC), Kutch-Bhuj. At present, there are 82 children living in the facility.
