9 girls missing from Delhi shelter home, Dy CM orders suspension of officers

New Delhi: Nine minor girls have reportedly gone missing from a shelter home in the national capital, after which Delhi`s Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia on Monday directed for suspension of the officials concerned.

The Delhi Police has registered a missing report in this connection, Deputy Commissioner of Police Meghna Yadav said, adding that the investigation is underway.

According to a letter written by the Delhi Commission of Women (DCW) chief Swati Maliwal to Sisodia on Monday, nine girls went missing from Sanskar Ashram for Girls (SAG) in Dilshad Garden on the intervening night of December 1 and 2.

"The shelter home authorities say they have no clue on how and when these girls went missing. Their absence was discovered only in the morning of December 2," Maliwal wrote.

An FIR has been registered by the police, she said and a probe is underway.

"The lapse of the home authorities in making it secure is extremely serious and warrants immediate intervention. These nine girls were transferred from a shelter home in Dwarka to Sanskar Ashram for Girls in May," she added.

She said: "The girls may be victims of human trafficking and commercial sexual exploitation, and the possibility of the traffickers/ brothel owners kidnapping these girls in connivance with the home authorities needs to be investigated in detail."

Responding to the letter, Sisodia directed Delhi Chief Secretary Anshu Prakash for suspension of the District Officer and the shelter home Superintendent with immediate effect.

"The matter of nine girls going missing from Sanskar Ashram for Girls yesterday (Sunday) is extremely serious and unfortunate. The Department of Women and Child Development (WCD) has failed in its duty to provide a safe and secure environment for minor girls who were placed under protection of the state," Sisodia wrote to the Chief Secretary.

"It is directed that the District Officer, North-East, WCD and the SAG Superintendent be immediately placed under suspension and their charge be given to competent and sensitive officers," he said.

Maliwal also wrote to the Delhi Police recommending investigation in the above-mentioned FIR to be transferred to the Crime Branch of Delhi Police so that urgent and immediate action could be taken to trace the girls, the DCW said in a statement.