Finally relenting before mounting pressure from the principal Opposition party BJP and several social organisations which have been demanding a high level probe into the shoddy state of affairs at the State Government-run shelter home, Nari Niketan, based in Dehradun, Chief Minister Harish Rawat announced a judicial inquiry to probe the gamut of things happening there on Monday.
Though stopping short of recommending a CBI probe as State BJP has been demanding, he has urged the Chief Justice of the State to appoint a retired or acting justice to head the inquiry commission. Interestingly, he made the much-awaited announcement on the day the saffron party’s women wing activists gheraoed his residence, demanding the CBI probe.
Notably, things around the home have been on the boil since the matter of a mentally and physically challenged inmate being allegedly raped and aborted came to light. This was followed by an ominous procession of two inmates’ deaths and several taken ill and hospitalised.
CM Rawat said that his government is serious over the issue. He further said that his Government had not been sitting idle on the matter so long. “We constituted an investigation by Special Investigation Team (SIT) led by SP City Ajay Singh. Besides, we have had a magisterial inquiry headed by ADM (Finance) Jharna Kamthan conducted,” he stated. He further said that State Women Commission is likely to form a SIT comprising veteran media persons or persons connected with social organisations to conduct an inquiry into the Nari Niketan issue.
CM said the deaths of the inmates had not happened for the first time now at the home as being alleged. “Deaths keep on happening since 2009. However, the previous State governments had chosen to sit on it, doing nothing to arrest or reverse things. It is my government that has taken a string of steps to stem the rot right from the roots,” he said in a dig at the BJP that has been in the thick of stir on the sensitive issue.
“We are going all-out to improve infrastructure in the shelter home located across the State to ensure that the inmates live a decent life while staying there. Separate arrangements are being made to keep the mentally challenged inmates apart from those who have no such problem. We have raised funds to be given to the homes to ensure that the inmates get nutritious food. Specialists are being appointed to take proper medical care of the mentally challenged inmates with the help of Non-Government organisations. The officials are now in touch with some of them. In order to provide them training to make them self- reliant, NGOs would arrange training. We are taking every possible step to put things in their right places so that the sordid things do not recur,” CM added.