Muzaffarpur shelter home case: Accountant surrenders in court

Ramashankar Singh alias Master Saheb, 65, an accused in the sensational Muzaffarpur shelter home sex horror case whose name is mentioned in the CBI charge sheet, surrendered in the POCSO Court here on Tuesday.

The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), which is probing the case, had filed a charge sheet against Ramashankar Singh on December 19, 2018.

Singh, an accountant, used to handle financial records of the shelter home and of NGO Balika Grih, which ran the shelter home. He was on the rolls of Balika Grih.

Earlier, another accused Shayeshta Parvin alias Madhu had also spelled out Singh’s name accusing him of financial bungling of government funds in collusion with Brajesh Thakur, the prime accused in the case.

The CBI team had conducted a series of raids at Singh’s house located at Barhampura area of the town since 2018 but to no avail as he kept evading arrest.

Barhampura police station house in-charge, VK Roy said that Singh had several informers, who supported him by passing on vital information about the police and CBI movements whenever they marched towards his house to locate and arrest him. “He is said to be a close relative of Brajesh Thakur and associated with the NGO since its inception,” the SHO said.

Case chronology

Oct 2017: A team from TISS visits Balika Griha and interviews inmates for a social audit

Nov 2017: Bihar State Commission for Protection of Child Rights chairperson Harpal Kaur recommends shifting of the shelter home

Dec: 2017 Muzaffarpur’s district magistrate sends a reminder

April 26, 2018: TISS submits report to state govt, points to sexual exploitation of inmates at the shelter. Instead of taking immediate action, the department asks TISS to submit an edited and printable version of the report

May 9 TISS submits a revised rep¬ort. Social welfare department floats a tender for the publication of copies of the report

May 26 The report is distributed among district officials at a meeting in Patna

May 31 Finally, an FIR is registered against Thakur’s NGO Sewa Sankalp Evam Vikas Samiti; 44 inmates are shifted to shelters in Patna, Mokama and Madhubani

June 3 Thakur is arrested. Medical tests of the inmates confirm rape and sexual abuse

July 26 Chief Minister Nitish Kumar recommends a CBI probe

July 29 The CBI takes over

August 6 The Patna High Court agrees to monitor the case

August 8 Bihar social welfare minister Manju Verma resigns after Thakur’s call records point to his close links with her spouse Chandreshwar Verma

First Published: Jan 16, 2019 08:33 IST