In another turn of events, the wife of Muzaffarpur district Child Protection Officer (CPO) Ravi Kumar Raushan has filed a case on Bihar's social welfare department minister Manju Verma's husband, in connection with the Muzaffarpur shelter home case.
Raushan was earlier arrested on the charges of sexual assault of some inmates.
Speaking to ANI, Shiva Kumari, wife of the Muzaffarpur District Child Protection Officer, said that her husband is innocent and that efforts are being made to protect NGO promoter Rajesh Roushan.
"My husband is innocent. Efforts are being made to protect NGO promoter Rajesh Roushan. My husband told me that Manju Verma's husband had visited the shelter home," said Kumari.
Chandrasekhar Verma, husband of Manju Verma, is accused of frequently visiting the shelter home and spending "long hours in the girls' room".
On July 26, Manju had dubbed the allegations levelled against her husband as 'baseless' and said, "Wife of one of the accused, who was arrested, is making baseless allegations after a month. My husband accompanied me to the shelter home in 2016. We never visited the shelter home afterward."
On a related note, Delhi Commission for Women (DCW) chairperson Swati Jaihind wrote a letter to Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar asking about steps taken by the state government for the rehabilitation of the victims in the case.
The Chief Minister, earlier on Friday, assured that strict action would be taken against the accused in connection with the case.
"This incident has ashamed us. The Central Bureau of Investigation is investigating the case. The High Court should monitor this case," said Nitish Kumar, while addressing a gathering at "Mukhyamantri Kanya Utthan Yojana" programme.
As many as 11 employees of the child shelter home in Muzaffarpur were arrested on July 24 for allegedly sexually harassing the inmates.
The issue of alleged sexual exploitation of more than 40 girls at a Muzaffarpur shelter home was uncovered more than a month ago by a Mumbai-based social science institute.
(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)