September 13th 2023.
This week in Agra, Uttar Pradesh, a video went viral showing the officiating superintendent of the Rajkiya Baal Grah, Poonam Pal, mercilessly thrashing a minor girl inmate with slippers. The incident is said to have taken place on September 4. The girl was lying on her bed while she was being thrashed.
In response to the video, the district magistrate took immediate action and ordered the district probationary officer (DPO) to conduct an investigation. Upon his visit to the child shelter, the DPO reported that such behavior is “not acceptable.”
On the recommendation of the district magistrate, the director of the Women Welfare Department in Lucknow suspended Poonam Pal. The DPO and the city magistrate visited the Rajkiya Baal Grah and it was revealed that the girl had been locking herself and other children in a box so that they could remain hidden.
The incident has sparked a huge outcry on social media. Arvind Chauhan, a reporter, tweeted about the incident on September 12 and wrote, “In #Agra's govt run children shelterhome, Poonam Lal, the center superintendent was caught slapping a girl with slippers. Earlier she was booked for abetment to suicide in #Prayagraj district in 2021 after a 15-yr-old girl allegedly killed her self in shelter home.”
The investigation is ongoing and more details are yet to be revealed.
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