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It’s worth mentioning here that, three
interns Ms. Linnea Karlsson, Ms. Sara Arrhusius and Ms. Josefine
Jacobsson, from Stockholm Sweden visited the orphanage Manoj Manjari
Sishu Bhawan (MMSB) in Orissa during 2010- 2011 and worked here as
interns.
They
witnessed the cruel abuse of the children during their stay at MMSB and
the children themselves professed to being brutally molested
psychologically and physically. (To read more on their observations and
remarks, please visit ‘Children
abused in orphanage of Odisha: Chief Minister's intervention sought by
activists through open letter’)
The petitioner has also brought serious allegations like sexual
harassment to women employees of the orphanage while expressing his
concern over no action by various public authorities even after
complaints.
While making allegation of brutal assault to the orphanage inmates, the
petitioner has brought as a fact before the bench that, ‘At least ten
inmates of the orphanage were recently rescued by the local police from
a nearby railway line’ adding that ‘the inmates had reportedly left the
orphanage with a motive to commit suicide’.
The PIL has also mentioned that the orphanage management is engaged in
huge financial irregularities. As claimed in the PIL, apart from getting
government aid, the orphanage receives huge funds from dubious sources
that are unaccounted for.
Taking all the allegations seriously, the division bench comprising the
Chief Justice and another Justice of Odisha High Court has directed the
government to hold an enquiry and submit its report in two weeks.
The Keonjhar based orphanage MMSB is believed to have strong clout in
the political and bureaucratic circles of the state with the Governor of
Odisha being its ex-officio patron-in-chief, former IAS Officer and present
Rajya Sabha MP Pyari Mohan Mohapatra its patron, Collector and District
Magistrate of keonjhar
being the ex-officio president. (http://www.mmsb.org.in/manage.html)
(Refer to ‘Children
abused in orphanage of Odisha: Chief Minister's intervention sought by
activists through open letter’
for more about various allegations made against MMSB by different
people at different times) |
