A man running a training centre and a hostel for hearing and speech impaired girls was arrested on charges of rape and inappropriate behaviour, police said on Friday.
Ashwani Sharma, the accused, runs the training centre in Awadhpuri for which he also gets government grants. He runs a hostel named 'Kritarth', where young women undergoing training are offered board and lodging facility.
The crime came to light after the speech and hearing impaired victim narrated her ordeal to her family, following which they lodged a complaint with Dhar and Indore police. A zero FIR was registered and sent to Awadhpuri police station in Bhopal. A zero FIR allows the victim to lodge an FIR at any police station irrespective of whether the crime was committed under the jurisdiction of that police station.
"One girl of Dhar and two of Indore have also lodged complaints against Ashwani, who has been arrested. A probe is on," Jaideep Prasad, Bhopal IG of Police told IANS.
The victim from Dhar alleged that the accused raped her many times while she was staying at the hostel for nearly a year to train in stitching and embroidery.
This case has come to light after a series of similar incidents occurred in shelter homes in Uttar Pradesh and Bihar.
