CID to probe case of 15 women missing from rehab centre

Action taken 4 years after their mysterious disappearance

Four years after the mysterious disappearance of 15 women from a skill development centre in City, the State government has handed over the case to the Criminal Inv-estigation Department (CID).

The women belonging to a minority community at the State Home were sent to the New Dawan Rehabilitation Trust at RT Nagar in 2011. They never returned to the hostel after the six-month training. Four years after the women went missing, the Women and Child Development Department has ordered a CID investigation.

A senior official from the Directorate of the Women and Child Development said that Ruksana Hassan, who runs New Dawn Rehabilitation and Skill Training Centre, had entered into an agreement with the department to provide training to the women.

According to a confidential report of the department, Ruksana did not ensure that the women returned to the hostel after the training. The report also stated that one of the women, Reshma, was sent to the residence of a retired forest official in Mangaluru, which the department stated as illegal and tantamounted to human trafficking. Reshma later died under mysterious circumstances.

“The death of Reshma will also be investigated by the CID. Ruksana has also not informed the department about Reshma's death. The CID has been asked to investigate into the disappearance of the women from the skill training centre,” an official said.

The services of the New Dawn Rehabilitation Trust were engaged by the Karnataka State Minorities Commission as a knowledge partner for Counseling Centre for Education and Employment of Minorities. The department had filed a complaint against Ruksana in 2015 and an FIR was registered at the Hebbal police station.

The issue was raised in the Legislative Council by V S Ugrappa and others. In her answer, Women and Child Development Minister Umashree had assured that the matter would be handed over to the CID. She had clarified that the investigation will also probe the mysterious death of Reshma.