Differently-abled woman raped by watchman at Gwalior shelter home, foetus burnt

Gwalior: A 24-year-old visually and speech-impaired inmate of a shelter home in Gwalior was allegedly raped by its watchman and she was also forced to undergo abortion and the foetus was burned, following which nine people, including four doctors, were charged, police said Friday.

Bilaua police station in-charge Inspector Amit Badhoria told PTI that six of the accused, including three doctors, have been arrested.

Police sources said the crime came to light when the district office of the Madhya Pradesh Women and Child Welfare Department received a complaint.

An investigation team was subsequently sent to Snehalaya, a foreign-funded shelter home, located on the outskirts of Gwalior, they added.

These sources said the woman's roommate, also visually and hearing impaired, told police, with the help of an interpreter, that watchman Sahab Singh Gurjar had allegedly raped the woman repeatedly for over two months.

Thereafter, the department officials informed the police about the matter.

"When the woman got pregnant, the shelter home director Dr B K Sharma Wednesday got the victim to terminate her pregnancy forcibly and also burnt the foetus to destroy evidence," Badhoria said.

He said Sharma, his wife Dr Bhavna, shelter home manager Jaiprakash Sharma, Dr Vivek Sahu, hostel supervisor Ravi Valmiki and warden Girraj Baghel have been arrested.

He said that efforts were on to nab the other accused who he identified as Dr Pushpa Mishra, shelter home warden Prabha Yadav and the main accused, Gurjar.

Valmiki confirmed the incident to police and also told them that Dr Sharma and his wife, Bhavna, knew about it, police sources said.

They added that Valmiki told them that victim's pregnancy was aborted and the foetus was burnt in the backside of the shelter home premises.

The accused have been charged under the relevant sections on Thursday, the police officer said.