Human Rights Defenders Alert (HRDA) appealed to the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) on August 25 for action against the Chhattisgarh police and other officials for the brutal assault of a lawyer at a children’s shelter in Bilaspur.

The HRDA, a forum that initiates actions for threatened human rights defenders, demanded an inquiry against the officials who tortured the legal representative of Apna Ghar – a shelter home for HIV positive children under 18 years – and assaulted minor girls.

The incident referred to occurred on the morning of August 17 when a lady who claimed to be an officer from Jangir-Champa’s Women and Child Development Department came to the shelter to take away two minor girls. However, since she failed to show any legal documents, the shelter staff did not allow her to take the children away.

The woman returned at 12:30 PM with about 50 officials in three police cars and two government cars. She was accompanied by the District program officer in the Ministry of Women and Child Development Mr. Suresh Singh, the Chief Superintendent of the Police Ms. Nimisha Pandey, District Child Protection officer Ms. Parvati Verma, Sarkanda police station’s Town Inspector Mr. Sanip Ratrey and other officials all of whom have been identified as perpetrators in the HRDA letter.

They said that they had orders from the District Magistrate to relocate the children but once again declined to show the written order by the shelter superintendent.

The Deputy Chairperson of Apna Ghar, Ms. Deepika Singh and the shelter lawyer argued that the officials cannot enter without a legal order and pointed out that the children should not be shifted since they were the most susceptible to the COVID-19 infection.

Eventually, the police authorities turned off all the CCTV cameras, confiscated all mobiles and allegedly physically assaulted the children who refused to go with them.

When the shelter’s legal representative protested, the police physically assaulted her as well. The officials put her in a car and drove her around for over an hour. Finally, they took her to Sarkanda police station around 10 km from the shelter. She was kept there with no food, water or medical attention, nor was she allowed to contact anyone.

At 2:55 PM, an FIR was lodged against her, Ms. Deepika Singh and the Director of Apna Ghar Mr. Sanjeev Thakkar at Sakri police station by Ms. Parvati Verma for obstructing the work of a public servant and causing harm.

The police transferred the advocate to Sakri police station at 6 PM under the pretext of a medical check-up. They kept her there for about half an hour and then took her for a medical check-up to the Bilaspur Medical College. The doctors advised her to get admitted to the hospital but the police refused.

After the medical check-up, she was taken to the Judicial Magistrate at Bilha, Bilaspur. She was released on Rs. 10,000 bond at 10 PM. She was admitted to the hospital on the following day.

The whereabouts and health and medical condition of the 14 minor girls who were forcibly taken from the shelter by the officials of the Women and Child Development Department is unclear.

The HRDA has also demanded that the Chhattisgarh’s Chief Secretary to send a report within 48 hours to the commission about the condition of the children forcefully taken away by the officials.

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