Sexual abuse was worse than previously thought at Muzaffarpur shelter home, tests reveal

Fresh reports reveal that more girls were abused in the government-funded Muzaffarpur shelter home.

Representational Image

PATNA: The alleged sexual abuse of girls at a government-funded shelter home in Bihar’s Muzaffarpur may be worse than earlier believed. Medical examinations have revealed that five more girls had suffered sexual abuse at the shelter home, taking the total number of victims to 34.

Medical reports had earlier indicated that 29 of the 44 girls living at the shelter home had either been raped or molested. The results of the medical examination that showed wider abuse were revealed on Saturday by Tirhut Zone Inspector General (IG) Sunil Kumar.

Bihar’s Director General of Police (DGP) KS Dwivedi had earlier said 10 of the 11 accused have been arrested. He also said four girls were reported missing from the shelter home since December 2013.

The abuse at the shelter home came to light on Monday after a girl alleged that her fellow inmate had been beaten to death and buried on the premises. Police efforts to dig up the compound and find the body have so far not turned up the alleged body.

Muzaffarpur SSP Harpreet Kaur had on Monday said that the area of excavation might be enlarged after further examination of the girl who had levelled the allegation. 

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, she said. 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, she said.