PATNA: The Patna high court on Wednesday granted three weeks’ time to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) to file a counter affidavit for hearing the bail petition of prime accused
Brajesh Thakur in the Muzaffarpur children home rape case.
The specially designated bench of justice Sudhir Singh, which is assigned to hear all the cases arising out of the case, has fixed the date of October 31 for next hearing on Thakur’s bail.
CBI standing council Sanjay Kumar had prayed for time to file a counter on the issue which was accepted by justice Singh following which the hearing was adjourned on Wednesday.
It was on October 3 only that CBI had dug out bones alleged to be of a 15-year-old girl living at the home, from a cremation ground at Sikandarpur in Muzaffarpur.
Till now, the CBI has arrested five accused in the case including one Gaurav Kumar, a cleaner of the children's home on October 5 after it took over the investigation from Muzaffarpur police on July 28.
Thakur was arrested by Muzaffarpur police along with seven other female office-bearers of his NGO named Seva Sankalp Ewam Vikash Samiti which was running the children home at Soha Road under Town police station in Muzaffarpur on June 2 this year.
Altogether 15 persons have been arrested in the case including ten by Muzaffarpur police.
It was a social audit report of Tata Institute of Social Sciences (TISS) which had highlighted the violent sexual and physical abuse of 44 minor girls living at the home following which an FIR was lodge with the Muzaffarpur’s Women’s police station on May 31.
Later, the medical report of 34 out of the 44 minors indicated that they were raped.
The state government was forced to recommend the case to CBI for investigation on July 26 after the then social welfare minister Kumari Manju Verma’s husband Chandra Shekhar Verma’s name cropped up in media report that he had multiple telephonic conversations with Thakur. She was forced to resign on August 8 after this development.