26 rescued minor girls who went missing from Bhopal hostel traced

Bhopal: The case of the 26 missing minor girls from a hostel on the outskirts of state capital Bhopal on Saturday has been resolved. Later in the evening of that very day, the police disclosed that all 26 girls, aged between 8 and 18, have been traced and reunited with their parents now.

Meanwhile, the police has also registered an FIR against the operator of the hostel "Anchal" in the initial complaint by members of state child protection board.

The chairman of National Commission for Protection of Child while taking suo-moto notice has shot off a letter to CS Veera Rana and sought compliance within a week.

Senior police officials including SP (dehat) Pramod Sinha, DM, CEO Ritu Raj Singh and others have inspected the hostel to take stock of the situation.

Pramod Sinha said the probe is still being conducted but the girls have been returned safely to their parents. Prima facie, it appeared that they had returned home willingly as they could not adjust to the hostel environment.

"We are investigating and preparing a detailed report and recording their statement of girls," said Sinha.

According to information, 68 girls were staying in Anchal hostel that is registered in the name of owner Anil Mathew. The minor girls had been rescued previously and were in need of care and protection. They were temporarily lodged at the hostel after due process as specified under Section 14 of the Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act, 2015.

The CNCP category (children in need of care and protection) are picked, rescued, and given shelter in homes/hostels following due course of procedure. Then there is another category (general) that operates like a simple hostel and free of charge. In the name of charity, such type of hostel conducts operations and provides lodging to needy children.

Police in this case have informed that 10 girls were traced to Adampur chawni, 13 to Ayodhya basti, 2 to Roopnagar crusher area and one to Raisen district.

During inspection by the team, only 41 girls were present out of 68 enrolments. Hostel operator Anil Mathew reportedly informed police that 26 girls, enrolled with the hostel have returned to their house but had failed to produce relevant documents.

The records confirms that 68 girl children in total were given a place to stay at the hostel since 2020. Minor girls from other states such as Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, Gujarat and Rajasthan are staying in this hostel too. Police are investigating all angles including child sex abuse, conversion, hostel registration, etc.

Meanwhile, the administration has suspended 2 project officers from the Women and Child department, namely Komal Upadhyay, Brijendra Pratap Singh (Ganjbasoda) and also their supervisor, Manjusha Raj. Besides, notices have been served to district programme officer and assistant directors of district child protection scheme.