About 20 girls walked out of an orphanage at night in Ernakulam, Kerala, alleging that they were being harassed by the nuns. They also stated they were beaten up and not even provided food on some days.



The girls, between 7 and 15 years of age, belonged to the Christ King orphanage. A complaint has been filed at the local police station under section 75 of the Juveniles Justice Act.

Orphanages in Ernakulam have been under the scanner earlier as well. In July, last year, the police after an investigation had concluded that children were trafficked into Kerala and had sent back 28 inmates of an orphanage back to their families in Assam, Manipur and Bihar.

A top officer from the Ernakulam rural police had then said,“We suspect that at least some of the 153 orphanages are into the business of bagging sponsorships by exhibiting children. A task force has now been formed to verify the credentials of inmates at these institutions.”

The Child Welfare Committee had launched an investigation in April 2017 to identify children illegally trafficked into orphanages in Kerala from other states.