SC issues notice to Centre, Bihar government seeking reply in alleged Muzaffarpur rape cases

The apex court issued a notice to the Centre and the Bihar government seeking a detailed reply from them.

New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Thursday took suo moto cognisance on the alleged sexual assault of girls in Bihar's Muzaffarpur shelter home case and issued a notice to the Centre and the Bihar government seeking a detailed reply from them.

The apex court order comes a day after Bihar Governor Satya Pal Malik wrote to the Centre and the state government seeking strict rules against all shelter homes indulged in wrongdoing. The Governor wrote to Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, Union Law Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad and Chief Justice of Patna High Court over the issue.

Protesting against the alleged rape at the shelter the Left parties in Bihar called for a bandh on Thursday seeking the resignation of Chief Minister Nitish Kumar. The bandh was supported by the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD), Congress Party, Hindustani Swam Morcha, Samajwadi Party and Lokrantrik Janata Dal.

Taking to Twitter, RJD leader and former Bihar deputy chief minister Tejashwi Yadav had said, "Against ghastly, dreadful & gruesome mass rape sponsored by Nitish Kumar, Left parties have called Bihar Bandh tomorrow supported by RJD & Congress demanding CM Nitish Kumar resignation. I assure that I will compel Nitish Kumar to speak up. Chacha, get ready to walk the talk."

The shutdown hit rail and road traffic, police told IANS. Left party workers and supporters blocked railway tracks thereby affecting over a dozen trains. Several trains were stopped in Darbhanga, Madhubani, Jahanabad, Gaya, Muzaffarpur, Patna and Bhojpur districts. Protesters have also blocked several roads in Siwan, Bhojpur, Nawada, Patna, Arwal, Jagabad districts.

At least 34 girls have allegedly been raped and 11 others gone missing in two of Muzaffarpur's shelter homes, run by the same owner, Brijesh Thakur. The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) was handed over the probe into the case concerning the abuse of girls in Balika Grih, run by Seva Sankalp Evam Vikas Samiti. It is alleged that officials and employees of the shelter home used to mentality, physically and sexually exploit girls residing there.

The case came to light earlier this year 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 (TISS), Mumbai.

More than 40 girls had been lodged at the shelter home and medical reports suggest that over half of them may have had sexual intercourse at some point of time. The NGO running the shelter home has been blacklisted and all the girls have been moved to shelter homes in other districts while the premises has been sealed.

Meanwhile, a fresh case has been registered against Thakur in connection with the disappearance of 11 women from the other shelter home.

According to the complaint, when a survey of the second shelter home was done by the district child protection unit in March, the presence of 11 women was registered. However, when the officials visited the shelter home for another survey in June, they found the shelter home locked.