Targeted for planning to join Congress, alleges Muzaffarpur shelter home case accused

Claiming innocence, he said that none of the girls have taken his name.

MUZAFFARPUR: Prime accused in Muzaffarpur shelter home rape case, Brajesh Thakur, has alleged foul play over accusations of his role in the case. Thakur claimed that the allegations against him have been levelled as people felt threatened by him and because he was thinking of joining Congress.

"I was thinking of joining Congress and it was almost final that I will contest elections from Muzaffarpur. This is happening due to that," he alleged. He added: "This has been propagated by some newspapers who want my newspaper office to shut down. Their business is getting affected due to my newspaper that's why it's happening." 

Reacting to Thakur's statement that he was about to join Congress, Bihar Congress Chief Kaukab Qadri called it a joke. He said that the call details are with Bihar Minsiter Manju Verma's husband. He added that his relations with the BJP and the JDU are coming out as he made the statement under pressure.

Claiming innocence, Thakur said that none of the girls has taken his name. He also denied any ties with another accused in the case, Madhu Kumari, who is believed to have been his close aide. Madhu Kumari has been evading arrest despite being named as an accused in the case. 

The CBI team probing the allegations of rape of 34 minor girls in the shelter home in Muzaffarpur visited four places in the town on Tuesday. They questioned people who are believed to be linked to Brajesh Thakur and his close aide Madhu Kumari.

They met Madhu's husband Chand Mian, who claimed that he had no relationship with her for over 12 years.

The state police had on Tuesday also raided an old age home in Samastipur district which is run by Brajesh Thakur. 

Meanwhile, Muzaffarpur Senior Superintendent of police Harpret Kaur suspended a police inspector Binod Kumar Singh for negligence in inspecting the shelter home in Muzaffarpur.

The Muzaffarpur case came to light when the Bihar Social Welfare Department filed an FIR based on a social audit of the shelter home conducted by the Tata Institute of Social Sciences, Mumbai.