World's biggest orphanage SOS Village does not file police complaint against Indian supervisors and calls off inquiry against one

Ten months after two Indian supervisors of SOS Village were found guilty of a serious complaint of child sex abuse, the world's largest orphanage is yet to register a police case against them.

Rakesh Ginsi, national director, SOS Village, said, "We have not registered a police case because we have initiated an internal inquiry to resolve the matter."

He added that the inquiry against accused Sudesh Malla, former director of SOS Village in Jammu, has been called off because he has resigned from the job.

The other accused, Rameshwar Singh, works with the SOS youth facility in Chandigarh.

The alleged victims are two girls, aged 15 and 12. In both instances, the village caretaker had alerted the authorities about the alleged sexual abuse.
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Meanwhile, the investigating officer advocate B P Singh said, "The investigation is on. It is a lengthy procedure and I cannot tell you when it will be completed."

Sandhya Bajaj, member, National Comm-ission for Protection of Child Rights, said, "I am not sure if the matter is with the commission, but if such incidents have taken place, we will take necessary action against the organisation."

Global Reach

SOS has 473 villages in nearly 125 countries, with more than 32 villages in India, including in Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata, Chennai, Bangalore and Pune.

The orphanage charity founded by Austrian philanthropist Herman Gmeiner, is supported by Nelson Mandela, Dalai Lama, writer Stephen Hawking and soccer star Wayne Rooney globally.