According to Chief District Officer (CDO) Sudarsan Prasad Dhakal, Patanjali Yogpeeth Nepal had kept the children without permission from the local administration."Immediately after a complaint was made by the district child welfare board (DCWB), we ordered handover of the children to their respective parents," said CDO Dhakal.
All the children kept at Yogpeeth have been handed over to their parents in the presence of police on Tuesday, according to DSP Raj Kumar KC, who is also the spokesperson for district police office (DPO), Kavre.
The Patanjali Yogpeeth was drawn into controversy after Gubren Taujale, central member of the Yogpeeth, had brought children from the quake affected areas to his home.
The DAO took no action against the Yogpeeth despite protests by child rights activists.
According to CDO Dhakal, members of Patajali Yogpeeth claimed that they kept the children there upon request by their own families.
"If our investigation finds that children were brought there with ill intention, the Yogpeeth will face action," he added.
After a report about the Yogpeeth sheltering quake hit children was published in Nagarik Daily, sister publication of Republica, last Sunday, the DCWB team had visited Taujale's home for inspection.
During inspection, the DCWB had found 17 boys and 5 girls illegally kept in two rooms. Four were from Sindhupalchowk and 18 were from Kavrepalanchowk.
"The Yogpeeth had been providing children good food and shelter," said child rights officer, Jayaram Karmacharya. "We had come to learn that the children were kept there to be sent to Patanjali School."
In the aftermath of the earthquake, the DCWB had issued directives banning relocation of quake affected children outside their district without the approval of their parents and permission from local authorities.
Meanwhile, Keshav Khulal, chief of Dhulikhel Sewa Sadan and life-member of Patanjali Yogpeeth, Haridwar, said that no children have been brought to Dhulikhel Sewa Sadan.
"We follow the instructions from the central office of Patanjali Yogpeeth. However, we do not have any children," said Khulal.
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