Muzaffarpur shelter home case: Patna HC raps CBI for not presenting probe report on time

PATNA: The Patna High Court on Thursday pulled up the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) for not presenting the investigation report into the case of sexual abuse of girls at a state-funded shelter home in Muzaffarpur city in Bihar. The HC had earlier issued a notice to the CBI seeking details of its investigation into the case.

In the last hearing, advocate General Lalit Kishore, who appeared for Bihar government, submitted sought the HC's direction for speedy trial of the people accused in the case. Kishore told the court that the state government has taken departmental action against more than a dozen officials of the Social Welfare Department, who have been put under suspension for alleged negligence and dereliction of duty.

The AG had said the state police was investigating the matter in a right and earnest way but the Bihar government on its own recommended the Centre for a CBI investigation in the case.

The central investigation agency has taken over the probe and is investigating the same. The government on July 26 recommended a CBI inquiry into the matter. 

The issue of sexual exploitation was first highlighted in a social audit report submitted by Tata Institute of Social Science, Mumbai, to the state's Social Welfare Department in April.

An FIR was lodged on May 31 against 11 persons, including Brajesh Thakur, the owner of the NGO 'Seva Sankalp Evam Vikas Samiti' which ran the shelter home for destitute girls funded by the government.

Ten out of the 11 accused, including Thakur, were arrested on June 3. Police submitted the chargesheet against the 10 accused on July 26 before Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) court in Muzaffarpur.

Medical examinations of 34 of the 42 inmates of the shelter home confirmed they were sexually exploited.