Court orders CBI enquiry against Nitish Kumar, 10 officials in shelter home case

Muzaffarpur: A special POCSO court in Muzaffarpur, on Saturday directed the CBI to enquire into the role of Bihar chief minister Nitish Kumar and more than eight senior officials of social welfare department in connection with the shelter home sexual abuse case.

The directive was issued during the hearing of a petition filed by a Muzaffarpur based advocate Sudhir Kumar Ojha on behalf of an accused Ashwini Kumar on February 14 last. Ojha, in the petition, had alleged that many bigwigs including CM, bureaucrats, politicians and officials of social welfare department were involved and enjoyed cordial relations with the prime accused Brajesh Kumar Thakur.

Thakur is at present lodged in Patiala jail. The CBI is probing the case on the directive of the Supreme Court.

Hearing the petition, special POCSO judge-cum-ADJ-1 (in- charge) Manoj Kumar found enough evidences to initiate investigation against the CM and other officials of social welfare department.

“We have an opinion that CM Nitish Kumar, four former and present principal secretaries and directors in equal number and some political leaders have tried to suppress the facts. So, they must also come under investigation process,” said Ojha.

Earlier, Ojha, who filed petition on behalf of Ashwini, alleged that these officials had visited shelter home several times during their tenure in the department.

“They have given clean chit to the shelter home operator. Even they have okayed everything in last visit on March 7 last year, nearly a fortnight after Mumbai based- organisation submitted its report to the government. It is clear from the facts that the officials with connivance of chief minister have suppressed the facts and did not take action against the shelter home operator. Instead of taking action they made payments to the NGO, Seva, Sankalp Ewam Vikas Samiti (SSEVS),” petitioner wrote in the petition.

At least 34 girls staying in the Balika Grih, a shelter home allegedly run by Brajesh's NGO SSEVS, were allegedly tortured and sexually assaulted. The horror story of the victims came to the fore during a social audit conducted by Tata Institute of Social Sciences, Mumbai.

An FIR was lodged with the women’s police station at Muzaffarpur on May 31 last year. On June 2, 2018 eight persons including the king pin Brajesh Kumar Thakur were arrested. The medical reports later confirmed the rape of 34 girls. The then social welfare department minister Manju Verma had to resign after her husband Chandra Shekhar Prasad Verma’s name figured in the controversy.