The government’s abominable neglect of its own children’s shelter home for girls in Shirur, some 200 km from Mumbai, has resulted in the repeated rape of two orphans, aged 14 and 15, over nearly eight months by a junior clerk and his son.

State officials left the post of the home’s superintendent vacant for eight years, deeming that an official from another shelter more than 60 km away could fulfill the job as additional responsibility.

No shelter from monsters: The home for girls in Shirur in Pune district has not had a superintendent for eight years. Pics/Satish Dhumal

The unreasonable stretch of duty resulted in this most abject of crimes, perpetrated countless times since November 2013 to June 2014. No female official had been appointed to the home. Moreover, counsellor Anita Nikam, who was supposed to meet with every girl at the home at least once a month, was not present during the period when the alleged rapes occurred on the shelter’s premises. Shirur police on Sunday arrested junior clerk Shabbir A Bale (52) and his son Bablu Bale (20) on the charges of raping the minors, who were admitted to the home in 2008.