Lucknow: Girija Tripathi, the arrested manager of the Maa Vindhyavasini shelter home in Deoria from which 24 girls were rescued on Sunday night, has allegedly made property worth crores after taking charge of the shelter home. Eighteen girls from the shelter home are still missing.
As per locals, Girija Tripathi used to run a stitching and embroidery centre under a tin shed at Raja Bhujauli in Bhatni area in Deoria. Within a short span of eight years after opening the shelter home, locals say, Girija’s fortunes saw an exponential rise. She was soon an owner of a flat, acres of land and numerous cars.
A shopkeeper who runs grocery shop near the shelter home said, “Girija Tripathi’s fortune changed overnight after she opened this shelter home and got it registered by an NGO. She has accumulated property worth crores in last eight years and has also developed links with political people and VIPs.”
“A red and a blue colour car was often seen parked at the gates of the shelter home. But everyone thought it was used to transport abandoned females or victims as police would often drop rape survivors at this shelter home as there is no rule to keep rape survivors at a police station beyond 5pm,” said another local on the condition of anonymity.
The matter came to the fore after a 10-year-old girl, who managed to escape from Maa Vindhyavasini shelter home, approached the police and told officers that many of her fellow inmates were “taken away by people who visited them in luxury cars”.
Ashish Gupta, BJP corporator, said, “Luxury cars could be seen outside the shelter home every now and then. But we always thought that she carries a good image and that is why big people are visiting her. No one could have ever thought that she was involved in such a shameful act.”
The Additional District Magistrate, Deoria, Sitaram Gupta, conducted a late night search at the shelter home and a carton full of documents, including a visitors’ register were examined. Speaking on the issue, ADM Deoria, Sitaram Gupta said, “Many girls were sent to this shelter home at the behest of police officials in last three years despite the licence of the house being cancelled. We are looking into this aspect too. The wealth of the accused is also a subject of investigation and we are looking into the matter.”
After the police raided the shelter home on Sunday, the front door and a secret backdoor of the shelter home were sealed by police and also the electricity connection to the shelter home was snapped on Monday.
Comments
0 comment