Sordid story of Arya Anathalaya

Arya Anathalaya at Darya Ganj in central Delhi has become the epicentre of a massive controversy after an 11-year-old girl died following alleged sexual abuse at the orphanage.

The girl, a class 3 student who was studying at a government school on the orphanage premises, was taken to Lok Nayak Jai Prakash Narayan Hospital on December 24 when she complained of vomiting and diarrhoea. Her condition deteriorated and she died on the same day.

Her death also exposed the sordid conditions at the orphanage, which has at least 1,100 destitutes and needy children.

According to a report by HAQ: Centre for Child Rights, a majority of children - both boys and girls — the NGO interviewed said they were subjected to sexual harassment, ill-treatment, eve-teasing and rape.

The report also said a nine-year-old boy was allegedly sodomised not only by older boys but also by wardens at the orphanage. The boy was produced before the Child Welfare Committee (CWC) and sent to NGO Salaam Baalak Trust.

Based on statements and instances of abuse identified so far by the CWC, Delhi Police have registered two cases, apprehended a 13-year-old boy and arrested three staffers at the orphanage.

“The accused include a security guard, a chief warden and a warden of the boys’ hostel,” said Devesh Chandra Srivastva, additional commissioner of police (central).

The boy, an imate of the orphanage, is suspected to be involved in the sodomy case as well. He faces the charge of raping the girl. The staffers are likely to be charged under the Juvenile Justice Act.

The Jama Masjid Police station is investigating the matter and is likely to make more arrests, Srivastva said.

The orphanage president VP Chaudhary denied the allegations. He said a “deliberate attempt is being made to tarnish the image of the centre.”

“The case of the minor girl and the boy are being investigated. I don’t want to comment on them. The rest of the allegations are baseless,” Chaudhary said. 

He said the orphanage administration is yet to get a copy of the girl’s post-mortem report or the CWC document that indicted the orphanage.

“We are also not being given a chance to defend ourselves. We have been running the centre for the last 94 years. Thousands of children have stayed here. It is heaven compared to other orphanages in Delhi,” said Chaudhary.

Lieutenant Governor Tejendra Khanna has appointed an administrator from the women and child development department to look into the functioning of the orphanage. The MCD has also decided to stop financial aid to the centre and directed its community services department to file a report on the orphanage.

New admissions to the orphanage have also been stopped.