The Uttar Pradesh government led by the Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath on Tuesday agreed that officers in Deoria district did not act against the shelter home in the Deoria town, despite clear instructions from the government as early as June last year and a criminal case filed just 10 days ago against the woman who ran the shelter home.

“The CWC which was constituted in 2015 had shown huge laxity in the entire episode which was unmasked in our regime and action initiated. The role of police will also be probed as an FIR was lodged on July 30 against the organisation at the local police sation, and why no action was taken. ADG Gorakhpur has been directed to probe the role of police,” Adityanath said at a late night press conference in Lucknow on Tuesday.

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Adityanath has recommended a CBI probe into the Deoria shelter home case, involving possible sexual abuse of the inmates, hours after one of the missing girls was found at an old age home run by the same NGO in Gorakhpur.

“To make things crystal clear, we have decided that the entire incident will be handed over to the CBI. To ensure there is no tampering of evidences, a SIT has been constituted under ADG crime, which will also have women police officers (SP, EOW and SP-Police Training School, Meerut). They will be assisted by STF,” Adityanath told reporters.

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He added that orders were issued to shift the girls recovered from the shelter home to Varanasi in a secure manner.

“Going through the statements of the girls, the seriousness of the incident and from since when it was happening…keeping all these points in mind, we have decided to hand over the matter to CBI, Adityanath said.

The Bal Kalyan Samiti whose job was to inspect such shelter homes and inform the government, has been suspended for dereliction of duty, he added.

Earlier, the UP Women and Child Welfare Minister Rita Bahuguna Joshi admitted there had been laxity at the district level in not shutting down the Deoria shelter even after a closure order last year.

Five people who were involved in running the Gorakhpur shelter have been detained.

One of the missing girls was recovered from the old age home in Gorakhpur this evening, police said.

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Police said the girl from the Deoria shelter should not have been at the Gorakhpur home, as it is meant for the elderly.

When the police raided the Deoria shelter on Sunday night, a rescued inmate had told them that some girls from there used to be taken to Gorakhpur, and then brought back the next day.

The Deoria case surfaced on Sunday night when one of the girls escaped from the shelter home and complained to the police.

The police said they rescued 24 girls from there and found that 18 others were missing.

(With agency inputs)