Imphal, Feb. 9: Emmanual, the head of one of the homes in Chennai from where some children were rescued recently, had forced 13-year-old Reeta Devi (name changed) from Manipur to “massage” his body late at night and beat her up if she failed to go to his room.
Called “father” by the children, he “touched” 12-year-old Leirang Devi (name changed) while he forced the children to clean latrines and tortured them when they refused to comply with his orders.
“They forced us girls to wash clothes and cook food. We were taken to task if the food was not properly cooked. I felt uncomfortable when the father (Emmanual) touched my body. It was a horror home,” Leirang wept as she narrated her ordeal at the home.
She was one of the 16 children rescued from Reach Home Children Foundation, Mogappair of Chennai, run by Emmanual.
Altogether 19 children, 10 girls and 9 boys, were brought here yesterday after being rescued from two illegal homes in Chennai. All of them are in the age group of six and 13.
Today, they recalled their ordeal at the “horror house” as they spoke to their guardians, social welfare minister N. Loken Singh and officials of his department at the Observation and Special Home, run by the department, at Takyel in West Imphal.
John Singh (name changed), 12, said Emmanual called Reeta to his room late at night and forced her “to massage his body”.
If she failed to go, she was beaten up severely the next morning.
The children said they were sent to collect firewood in a nearby jungle.
“If we brought firewood, rice was given to us for cooking. If we did not bring it then no rice was given. We were not fed enough and when some of the children took food without permission they beat us up. No education was given to us,” Singh said.
The children said Emmanual’s son, Benny, introduced the boys to smoking while some of the girls were taught how to dance.
Some of the parents cried as they heard the “horror” tales and said it was their fault that their children had to suffer such an ordeal.
Some of the children reportedly told officials of the department and child activists that they were molested at the home, but these incidents were not disclosed by the officials.
“These things cannot be made public. We carried out medical examinations yesterday but found no evidence of sexual abuse,” a senior official of the social welfare department told reporters.
Child activists, who knew about sexual harassment at the home, expressed anger at the officials of the department for concealing the matter.
A team of Chennai police’s anti-trafficking section will arrive here soon to probe whether Reeta was sexually abused by the “father”.
She was not among the group of children brought here yesterday. Social welfare officials said guardians had brought her back before the Chennai Child Welfare Committee rescued 16 children from the home on January 21.
The children were taken to Chennai by S. Herojit from Bishnupur and Leisham Rakesh from Imphal East on the promise that they would be given free education. The two also took Rs 10,000 each from the parents.
They were arrested with two others by Chennai police but freed on bail on January 29.
The police are looking for Emmanual, his friend Christopher and Benny.