TIRUNELVELI: Notorious British paedophile Duncan Grant, who was convicted by the Supreme Court for abusing children in Mumbai, had allegedly visited a private orphanage in Tirunelveli. “Grant visited Grail Trust Children’s home at Chinnamalpuram near Vallioor. But we do not know when he visited the home. It should be investigated further,” sources said.The revelation comes after Bangalore-based voluntary organisation ‘Justice and Care’ approached Tirunelveli Child Welfare Committee (CWC) on August 12 and gave a written complaint that a child had been sexually abused and tortured by British national, Jonathan Robinson (69).Based on this information, CWC took the matter to Tirunelveli Superintendent of Police Vijayendra S Bidari. Subsequently, a police team raided the children’s home and the child was rescued and handed over to Saranalayam, a unit of CWC. A case was filed against Robinson and a lookout notice was issued against him.According to Suganthi Shaiju of ‘Justice and Care’, who interviewed the boy at Saranalayam, the IXth standard student said that Jonathan had taken him to Shimla on April 13, 2011. Before reaching Shimla, they stayed for three days at Delhi, where Jonathan started his sexual abuse. The boy also revealed that he went once with Jonathan to Kodaikanal, where Jonathan’s friend Duncan and two others joined them. The sources said that the Duncan the boy mentioned was Duncan Grant, convicted by the SC in a paedophile case on March 18 along with two others for abusing 5 minor boys in Anchorage orphanage in Mumbai.The boy also said that Jonathan used to sleep with another boy. Sometimes, he took five or six boys to the terrace and slept with them. But the boy said, “at those times he did not abuse me, but I don’t know if Jonathan had abused the other boys.” Based on documents available, Robinson visited the Tirunelveli home around 14 times since 2001. Most of the time, he came to India via Thiruvanathapuram airport. Social activist O Homer Lal has alleged that the CWC and Social Welfare Department did not actively monitor Children’s Homes. “If they monitored the Homes, these crimes would not have occurred,” he pointed out. A CWC member said that in Tirunelveli district, it was the duty of district Social Welfare Department to monitor the children’s homes. For the last few years, it wasn’t functioning properly. “The trustees of the Grail Trust should be investigated and if found guilty, they should be booked and the children including 10 girls should be rescued from the Home,” the member said. As Tirunelveli district is near Thiruvananthapuram airport, foreigners come and visit the home. Not only Robinson, other foreigners, including women, have visited the home.
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