Serious irregularities, negligence of duty and inadequate oversight have undermined discipline at Tejgaon Government Shishu Poribar, a residential care facility for girls run by the Department of Social Services.
Over the past year, girls have reportedly been allowed to leave the premises with the authorities’ tacit approval. Two adolescents have become pregnant in the past six months, while three girls were allegedly sexually abused after running away from the facility.
Former and current residents, as well as officials and employees, have also raised allegations that children are made to work as domestic helpers in the homes of officers and staff members.
During a visit to the facility, young girls were seen walking to school without a “khalamma” (female caretaker). The security guard at the main gate was not seen recording their departures or arrivals, while the girls crossed the road unaccompanied on their way to Tejgaon Adarsha School and College.
Deputy Superintendent Sanjida Ayesha said, “There are supposed to be eight khalammas here, but there are only two. That’s why it’s not always possible to send someone with them.”
For approximately 500 metres outside the main gate, displaced families live in tin-roofed shacks along both sides of the road. Trucks line the route, while drug users frequent the area.
The girls must pass through this area to reach school, with Ayesha stating that they had been harassed several times.
“Letters were sent to the department thrice about the environment outside. But no solution has been found,” she said.
The Department of Social Services operates 85 residential facilities of two types nationwide for orphaned, destitute and children without guardians, with a combined approved capacity of 10,300.
Chhotomoni Nibash accommodates children from birth to six years of age, while Shishu Poribar houses children aged between six and 18. Girls without guardians may remain beyond the age of 18 with special permission from the department.
Of the 85 facilities, 42 accommodate only boys, 42 accommodate only girls and one houses both.
Tejgaon is the only residential facility for girls in Dhaka. It has a capacity of 175, with 127 girls currently living there.
Several former residents, speaking on condition of anonymity, told TIMES that, in September this year, staff noticed physical changes in an adolescent girl. A medical examination subsequently revealed that she was seven months pregnant.
The girl reportedly admitted that her boyfriend was responsible for the pregnancy. As he was Hindu, the authorities allegedly converted him to Islam, arranged their marriage and expelled the couple from the facility under the cover of darkness.
Assistant Superintendent Shahjahan Akand acknowledged that the girl had become pregnant but denied that she had been expelled at night, saying that she had gone on leave and never returned. He added that it was her guardians who had arranged her marriage.
Sanjida Ayesha said, “Adolescent girls live here. If any of them is in a relationship with someone outside, there is nothing for us to do about it. In such cases, we try to resolve the matter by calling in their guardians.”
Asked whether the young man had been forcibly converted and married to the girl, she said an investigation would be conducted and a response provided if a formal letter was sent through the ministry.
Ayesha said the girls underwent medical examinations every Tuesday.
Asked how a pregnancy had gone undetected for seven months, she replied, “If someone goes outside and does something, it is not possible to detect it without a medical examination.”
Former residents made another allegation involving a female teacher at BG Press High School, located next to Shishu Poribar.
They said the teacher had regularly taken several adolescent girls to her home. Although visits to relatives’ homes require permission from the deputy superintendent, several girls allegedly visited the teacher without written authorisation.
One of the girls reportedly became pregnant in July and left Shishu Poribar when arrangements were made for her medical examination.
Akand denied that such an incident had occurred.
“Since that madam at the school has no daughter, she takes the girls to her home during school holidays and teaches them. Then the madam herself drops the girls back at Shishu Poribar,” he said.
Several former residents also alleged that Akand regularly took girls to his own home. He denied the allegation.
In September, three girls without guardians reportedly ran away from the facility because they could no longer tolerate the alleged neglect. Police rescued them from the streets the following day.
Akand confirmed that the girls had run away and had been rescued but disputed the circumstances.
He said two girls had fled together and were found the same day, while another had run away much earlier. He denied that any of them had been sexually abused.
Ayesha said children living on the streets and those involved in guardianship disputes were often admitted through court orders and tended to run away frequently.
As a male staff member, Akand is not permitted to enter the girls’ dormitory. However, two former residents alleged that he frequently entered the dormitory without informing anyone, sometimes putting the girls in embarrassing situations.
Akand also denied this allegation, saying he had never entered the dormitory alone.
Ordinarily, no male officer or employee other than the gatekeeper is posted to a girls-only Shishu Poribar. Akand is the first male officer to serve at the Tejgaon facility.
Speaking to TIMES, Akand claimed that a former director general had transferred him from Khagrachhari to restore discipline.
Inquiries, however, revealed that his wife had been working at Tejgaon two years earlier and that he had sought a transfer to join her.
Mohibul Islam, who has worked as a gatekeeper for 14 years, said he had never seen a male assistant superintendent at the facility before Akand.
Within a week of the TIMES reporting on the team’s visit, Akand was transferred to Faridpur Shishu Poribar, another residential facility for girls.
In July, five officials and employees, including the assistant superintendent, were temporarily suspended following an incident in which a teenage girl at the residential care facility became pregnant.
Dhaka District Social Services Office Director Ayesha Akhter said there were few female officers available for the position, which was why Akand had been transferred to a vacant post in Faridpur.
She added that she knew nothing about the allegations of irregularities at Tejgaon.
A week after this correspondent visited the children’s home to investigate, Assistant Superintendent Shahjahan Akand was transferred to the Faridpur Children’s Home, which also houses girls. In July, five officials and employees, including the assistant superintendent, were suspended after a teenage girl at the facility became pregnant.
