Atleast 30 children were rescued by police during raids conducted in two shelter homes in Greater Noida and Meerut last month. The children belonging to poor families alleged that they were forcibly converted to Christianity by their caretakers.
The development came after a mother of a nine-year-old boy informed a children’s helpline about the on-going atrocities in the shelter homes run by the Emmanuel Seva Group.
According to Hindustan Times, these children were ‘hung by the wrists from a ceiling fan, starved for days and beaten mercilessly for failing to recite Bible passages’.
Describing their ordeal, the children said that they were restricted to the home for three years and were served cockroach-infested food. Forced to live in poor conditions, the children described their stay as a ‘jail term’.
“I was allowed to meet my parents once a month for only 15 minutes. The only thing I was taught was the Bible. They forced me to memorise its passages,” said the nine-year-old boy.
“They gave us good clothes whenever visitors came. They made us stand in line and recite Bible passages. Faltering meant a beating with sticks and belts later. Once the guests left, the shelter in-charge snatched away our clothes, sweets and gifts and we were back in rags again,” he added.
The boy’s older sister added that the children were forced to sleep on a dirty floor strewn with rodent droppings.
“They never allowed us to step outside. We were not given food for three days at a stretch if we forgot a Bible passage,” the report quoted her, as saying.
The complainant said that Josua Devraj, whom she met at a Delhi hospital, offered to raise her children and promised to make them IAS officers.
“He forced us to circulate pamphlets and copies of the Bible in public places but never paid us,” she said.
Following the complaint, the children were rescued on December 29 after police raided both the homes.
“The victim’s mother had approached us on December 28. We contacted the police and conducted a raid at Naya Haibatpur village in Bisrakh area. It was found that a shelter home with the name of Emanuel Sewa Group was operating illegally. Seven children were kept there in squalid and untidy condition. The children were also found to be malnourished. A subsequent raid was conducted at the shelter home of the same organisation in Meerut from where 23 children were rescued,” said Satyaprakash, programme manager, FXB Suraksha NGO.
The mother alleged that, after the children were rescued, the shelter’s employees threatened to take her children back.
“They pelted stones at our house and beat us up with batons. They fled when the neighbours gathered,” she said.
“A case was registered at the Bisrakh police station. We are investigating whether the organisation had permission to run a shelter home. Three persons, including the caretaker of the shelter home, have been detained and are being questioned. We are investigating the claims of the rescued children,” said Ashwani Kumar, in charge, Bisrakh police station.
Accused Joshua Devraj refused to comment on the issue.
“Yes, raids were conducted but I cant tell you much about it. I will comment on this issue later,” he said.
Source : India Today
