Rajkot: Two days after a matron at Kutch shelter home was booked for alleged brutality against children, the Delhi-based non-govt organisation (NGO), SOS Children’s Villages India, which runs the facility, said it had taken action against the matron on June 25, a day after receiving information about the alleged abuse.In a statement SOS Children’s Village India said, “The concerns first came to light through the organisation’s own child safeguarding system, when the children shared their experiences with a teacher at HG School, an SOS India-run educational institution.”Police in Madhapar of Kutch West lodged a complaint on Friday against Latifa, the matron of an SOS Children’s Village shelter home for allegedly subjecting minor inmates to extreme physical and mental abuse, including beating eight boys (all under 14 years), hurling profanities and smearing human excrement on their faces.The complainant also highlighted negligence and complicity by the institution’s management. Despite being aware of the situation, shelter authorities didn’t lodge a police complaint and merely transferred the woman while initiating an internal probe that remained inconclusive.“After the receipt of information regarding the alleged incident on June 24, the concerned caregiver was removed from caregiving responsibilities on June 25 and instructed to have no contact with the children. The caregiver was subsequently transferred to the National Training Centre in Faridabad on June 30. An initial fact-finding investigation was completed on June 25, followed by a further investigation on June 27,” the NGO said.According to SOS, an independent organizational inquiry began on Oct 5 and is being pursued.
