GORAKHPUR: The 10-yearold who exposed the exploitation of the inmates at the girls’ shelter home in Deoria showed exemplary courage in escaping from the “house of horror” and reaching the women’s police station all by herself.

Recalling her escape, the child told the cops: “I was on the first floor of the shelter home when the in-charge Girija Tripathi called me and instructed me to wipe the ground floor. She received a phone call and got engrossed in the conversation. I saw an opportune moment to flee. I ran without any second thoughts towards the police station.”

The child told mediapersons that the older inmates used to be taken away in cars with ‘Madamji’ (Girija) around 4pm and dropped back only the next morning. She added that the cars used to be of different colours “like red, black and grey and looked expensive”.

“After returning, the ‘didis’ (older inmates) used to cry on seeing and meeting us… the younger girls were forced to sweep the floor and do other household work. We were beaten up by different men for not following their diktats,” she said.

Medical report of rescued inmates likely today

A medical board was constituted to examine the 24 inmates of Deoria shelter home who were rescued on Monday. The board, headed by chief medical officer of Deoria, Dr Dhirendra Kumar, is ascertaining whether the girls had been sexually assaulted. A team of women doctors is part of the medical team that is assisting the CMO. A member of the medical board said on condition of anonymity that the entire examination process would take at least 10 hours. "Even if we work all night, we cannot expect the reports to be available before Tuesday noon," said a staff assisting the board.

