‘67 girls found in raid are hypnotised’

Jaipur, July 5: Counselling of 67 girls, found in a police raid on an ashram being run in a hotel in Rajasthan’s Rajsamand, has been of no avail as they are unwilling to answer any questions about themselves and seem “hypnotised”, a child rights panel member said on Thursday. “The girls from different parts of the country were found on Wednesday and sent to Balika Grah. Now, we are conducting counselling of these girls, but not all is okay with them. They seem to be hypnotised. “They don’t want to speak on any subject. They are neither asking for food nor are speaking the facts but instead screaming at us saying they have been here on their own wish and will,” said Bhavna Paliwal, a member of the Children Welfare Committee. She added that there is no registration paper of this ashram, being run in a hotel hall, or information as to who runs it and no records of girls are available in the premises.

Paliwal said that a few people have approached them claiming to be the parents of some of the girls but they cannot be trusted and are suspected to be the owners of the ashram. Presently, the Children Welfare Committee, Childline and Balika Grah are together counselling these girls, while there is a strict vigil by police outside. Paliwal said that what triggered further suspicion is the statement of one girl’s father from Dholpur who said that someone hypnotised his daughter three years back and she left her home. “She is now 14 and doesn’t want to return. He also doesn’t know who runs this ashram,” she said.(IANS)