Prapti, her 12-year-old sister Priyanka and nine-year-old brother Rohan, were among the 30 children rescued from two illegal shelter homes in Greater Noida and Meerut. It has been alleged that the homes run by Emmanuel Seva Group were carrying out forcible conversions and they tortured children.
“We were being forced to recite and learn passages from the Bible. If we didn’t, we were beaten up with belts and slippers,” says Priyanka, who didn’t like the daily exercise and was once beaten up for making mistakes. The children said they were even forced to eat buffalo meat. Not eating meant punishment.
Nutan called the Child Helpline which contacted the police and conducted raids at Naya Haibatpur village in Bisrakh area and in Meerut. Her children were among those rescued, she saw them after three years.
A case has been registered at the Bisrakh police station. Three people, including the caretaker, have been detained and are being questioned. The police is now investigating the claims of the rescued children. The accused Joshua Devraj hasn’t been arrested yet.
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