Police raided two shelter homes run by the Emmanuel Seva Group in Greater Noida and Meerut and rescued at-least 30 children. The children belonging to poor families alleged that they were forcibly converted to Christianity by their caretakers.
The police raided the shelter homes after a mother of a nine-year-old boy informed the children’s helpline about the on-going atrocities in the shelter homes.
According to report, a 9 year old claimed that they were hung by the wrists from a ceiling fan, starved for days and beaten mercilessly for failing to recite Bible passages.
Describing their ordeal, a child said that that their stay was like a “jail term” during which his name was also changed.
“We were allow to meet our parents once in a month for only 15 minutes. The only thing I was taught was the Bible. They forced me to memorise its passages, and were forced to consume buffalo meat and “paraded” before potential donors.
The boy told to HT on Thursday that “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,” he said.
“Once the guests left, the shelter in-charge snatched away our clothes, sweets and gifts and we were back in rags again,” the boy added.
“They never allowed us to step outside and were forced to sleep on a dirty floor. We were not given food for three days at a stretch if we forgot a Bible passage,” said another child.
“A case was registered at the Bisrakh police station following the raid. 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.
The woman of the 9 year old child who made the complain about the shelter homes said that the shelter’s employees came to her house on Tuesday night and threatened to take her three children back. “They pelted stones at our house and beat us up with batons. They fled when the neighbours gathered,” she said.