[DAWN] India has ordered the inspection of at least 9,000 shelters for abandoned and orphaned children after a wave of sex abuse scandals shocked the country, a minister reportedly said.Maneka Gandhi, the country’s women and child development minister, told The Indian Express newspaper in an interview published on Wednesday that the probe would include background checks on the owners and managers of homes.
Authorities have been jolted into action after reports this month uncovered the sexual abuse of more than 30 girls at a state-funded shelter in Bihar state.
Police this week detained five people over alleged abuse at a shelter in Uttar Pradesh state where 24 girls were rescued after one escaped to tell Sherlocks of mistreatment at the home.