Lady doctor among three held in shelter home sexual abuse case

Jammu: A lady doctor was among three persons held in connection with a case of alleged sexual exploitation of a mentally-challenged girl at a shelter home in 1997. Owner of Aasthan Nursing Home, Dr Raj Sharma, was taken into custody last evening and questioned in connection with the sexual abuse and abortion of the victim at the Rotary Inner Wheel Home for Mentally Retarded Children, police said. GL Koul, the principal of the home, and its secretary, Rajinder Kapoor, were arrested on on 19 September and have been now placed in police remand. [caption id=“attachment_1125253” align=“alignright” width=“380”]  File photo of protests against Delhi gangrape. PTI[/caption] The trio was arrested for allegedly concealing evidence in the case, police said. With the latest arrests, the total number of people in custody in connection with the case has reached five. Angad Kumar, a guard at the home, and Surjeet Kumar, a former guard there, were arrested on 5 September. Police said that an abortion operation on the girl was allegedly conducted by a lady doctor at the Nursing Home in 1997. After receiving complaints regarding sexual exploitation of girls at the home in the Channi Rama area of the city, District Commissioner of Jammu AK Sahu had constituted a Board to probe the matter. The board comprised the DC, Additional DC, SP, and gynaecologists and psychiatrists. It found out that five mentally-challenged girls at the home were sexually exploited, following which a case was registered in the matter. A total of 45 mentally-challenged children live at the said home. PTI