Delhi government today suspended two Social Welfare officers and two Superintendents of Shelter Homes on the charge of dereliction of duty and mismanagement.
The suspensions of the social welfare officers and Superintendents of Shelter Homes - Nari Niketan and Nirmal Chhaya Complex were ordered on the basis of the report submitted by Delhi Commission for Women (DCW) chairperson Swati Maliwal to Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal after making three visits to the Shelter Homes.
The Commission members had also spent a night on Shelter Homes on August 21.
On the basis of the report, the Chief Minister ordered the Women and Child Development Minister Sandeep Kumar to take immediate action following which four officials were suspended.
"The DCW report submitted to the government stated that efforts made for restoration of girls very poor. Girls who could have been released and restored with their families are languishing for years. Many mentally ill women may have developed signs of mental illness due to the trauma of being unable to reach back to their families," said an official.
According to the report, case files of women are not maintained properly along with the records of people coming to meet and or take away the girl/women, their addresses and mobile numbers not being maintained.
"The Commission discovered a major lapse wherein a case file of girl who was 'restored' was missing from the Short Stay Home which is also located in the Nirmal Chaya complex, which is a very serious issue as the girl could have fallen prey to trafficking," said the official.
The Commission also found only one Legal Aid Lawyer from DSLSA (Delhi State Legal Services Authority) coming once a week in Nari Niketan and that there are no lawyers for representing the victims in court.
The Nari Niketan Social Welfare Officer and Superintendents and DSLSA lawyers were unaware of the status of the cases as the charge sheets, court orders not maintained in the case files.
The report pointed out that although the Home is not registered under the Mental Health Act still mentally challenged people are living along with those not suffering from any mental illness.
