Shelter Home Shame in Bhopal: Director of Hostel Arrested for Raping a Deaf-Mute Girl

Bhopal, August 10: In a shocking incident from Bhopal, a director of a hostel was arrested for raping a 20-year-old deaf and mute girl. According to the News 18 report, the accused has been identified as Ashwani Kumar Sharma, runs two hostels, and one of them is for the differently-abled kids. The horrific incident came to the light when the girl's family took her home, and with the help of sign-language expert came to know that she was raped.

The victim who is a tribal has accused that Sharma has raped another girl as well. Reportedly, the opposition Congress claimed the hostel was aided by the MP government's Social Justice Department and demanded a thorough investigation into the incident and a social audit of all such hostels. The accused reportedly ran two hostels- one for girls, and the other for boys.

The incident comes on the back of the Muzaffarpur, and the Deoria shelter-home rape cases that have shocked the entire nation. The Muzaffarpur shelter home rape case came to light after the 44 girls living in the shelter house alleged that they were raped and abused in the house. The shelter home is run by an NGO named Seva Sankalp Evam Vikas Samiti, and the girls said that they were shown pornographic films and given sedatives before getting sexually assaulted. The girls even complained that those inmates who resisted the assault were roughed up badly. The matter was handed over to the CBI.

Commenting on the horrific cases of sexual abuse against inmates from shelter homes, Union Minister Maneka Gandhi on Monday said, "It’s not only frightening, it makes me sad. I know there will be many more because, for years and years, we have paid no attention, apart from giving them money."

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Aug 10, 2018 08:56 AM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).