In yet another shocking incident of a minor being sexually abused in an orphanage, the orphanage's chairman was arrested after a 12-year-old girl reported to the police that she was allegedly abused by him. She fled from the orphanage in Peenya, Bengaluru on August 18.
The Hindu reported that the girl was found by a woman, who heard her story and later took her to the Soladevanahalli police station. The woman had initially seen the girl bleeding profusely and assumed that she had attained puberty, according to ToI. But on examining her closely, it was found that she has been sexually abused and assaulted.
35-year old SM Vijayraj who founded the orphanage in 2004, had been arrested by the police under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POSCO) Act soon.
The girl has been sent to a private hospital for treatment and the accused was medically examined,The Hindu report said.
The Times of India report quoted Divya Narayanappa, the District Child Protection Officer, who visited the orphanage on Wednesday, as saying, "The other girls in the orphanage were moved to shelter run by an NGO, as they continue to go to school." Twenty boys who are still in the orphanage are under the care of another NGO.
The victim had made attempts to run away from the shelter in the last two months. The staff, a cook and a caretaker are being questioned by the police. The police is also enquiring children of the home to make sure there aren't more cases of abuse, says the TOI report.
The 12-year old girl, who lost her father three years ago, was sent to the orphanage by her mother, who is a daily-wage worker, as she thought she would get better facilities and good education. The police is still looking for the victim's mother. ToI also reports that the girl was she was not scared of the police or the perpetrator at the police station and asked the officials there to hang him.