New Delhi: After Uttar Pradesh, it is the turn of the Congress-NCP ruled Maharashtra government which has come under fire over the shocking incident of rape and torture of children in an illegally-run shelter home for tribal and poor children.
The Union home ministry has asked the Maharashtra government to send a report on the horrific incident involving several children some as young as 11 years old, who have complained about being forced to have sex, watch pornographic films and eat faeces.
The spiralling crime against women and children in the country has emerged as one of the biggest challenges for the Narendra Modi government, which had earlier taken on the UPA government on the string of rape cases, including the Delhi gangrape case.
Incidentally, Assembly elections are due in Maharashtra later this year and the BJP-Shiv Sena combine is hoping to trounce the Congress-NCP after the former did extremely well in the just-concluded general elections winning 42 of the 48 seats.
The MHA under Rajnath Singh has asked the Maharashtra government for a report on the facts of the case involving the brutal crime committed against the children in the shelter home, a top official said.
The incident in Maharashtra comes close on the heels of the already raging storm over the gangrape and murder of the two minor girls in Uttar Pradesh.
Top officials said the Modi government is pitching for strict implementation of laws dealing with cr-ime against women and children in the country. The MHA is expected to ask all states to lay special attention to prevention of such crimes.
