Dhenkanal Shelter Home In-Charge Arrested

Dhenkanal: A day after the shocking revelation of alleged sexual exploitation of minor girls at a shelter home in Odisha’s Dhenkanal, police on Saturday arrested the in-charge, Simanchal Nayak.

Talking to the media, Dhenkanal SDPO Sk Abdul Karim said Nayak has been arrested on the basis of a complaint lodged by Child Protection Officer (CPO) Anuradha Goswami and efforts are on to nab Fayaz Rahman, the owner and managing director of the shelter home.

The shocking incident came to the limelight after the minor girls of the shelter home at revealed the incident to the media recently and accused the in-charge of the shelter home of sexually exploiting them.

Also Read: Sexual Exploitation Slur On Dhenkanal Shelter Home In-charge 

The panicked minor girls had said though they have been sexually harassed by Nayak for over two years, they did not have the guts to speak about it due to shame and fear.

The inmates also said that the owner of the shelter home, Fayaz Rahman, whom they call ‘daddy’, is currently staying abroad.

Acting on the media reports, the CPO and members of the Child Welfare Committee of the district raided the shelter home on Friday. She later lodged a complaint at the Sadar police station in this connection.

The shelter home initially operated from Dhenkanal town in 2012. It was closed down after the district administration declared it as illegal in 2015.

While a case on this matter is pending in the Orissa High Court, the owner of the shelter home constructed a new building in a secluded area on the outskirts of Dhenkanal town in 2016, where 54 minor girls and 40 minor boys are staying at present.