13 March,2009 08:08 AM IST | | A correspondent
Celebs who had supported the world's largest orphanage, SOS Village, are shocked at the charges of sexual abuse against some of its caretakers. They, however, say the NGO's good work should not be ignored due to the scandal
BOLLYWOOD celebrities who had at some point or the other supported the world's biggest orphan charity, SOS Village, reacted with shock and concern of how two of its supervisors faced serious complaints of child abuse.
MiD DAY carried the story yesterday.
Village Director of the Jammu branch Sudesh Malla and assistant village director Rameshwar Singh of the Faridabad branch near Delhi were transferred to other SOS Village locations pending internal inquiry against them.
Malla resigned. Singh is serving at a youth facility in Bareilly pending inquiry.
The girls were 15 and 12 at the time of the alleged incidents last year. No police complaint was filed.
SOS has 473 villages in nearly 125 countries, with more than 32 villages in India including in Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata, Chennai, Bangalore and Pune.
Big-ticket orphanage
The NGO is supported by the likes of Nelson Mandela, Dalai Lama, writer Stephen Hawking and soccer star Wayne Rooney globally. In India, celebs like actors Shabana Azmi, Mahima Choudhury and Mandira Bedi, and the country's topmost politicians including Indira and Rajiv Gandhi, LK Advani and former Presidents Kalam and Shankar Dayal Sharma have been supported the SOS Village cause in some form or the other.
The perpetrators should get the highest punishment if guilty. It is a terrible
act
Mahima Chaudhry, actor
I am highly disappointed. Strong action should be taken against the people involved
Mandira Bedi, actor and presenter
These rotten apples can spoil the basket, but we must look at the NGO's good work too
Raveena Tandon, actor
Nobody can support this kind of incidents of alleged child sexual abuse
Indrani Dasgupta, model
