Bihar CM Nitish Kumar (TOI file photo)

NEW DELHI: Civil society organisations on Monday protested against Bihar chief minister Nitish Kumar and demanded his resignation over the issue of sexual abuse of minor girls at a shelter home in Muzaffarpur , Bihar.

The protesters staged protest outside the Bihar Bhawan and also sought a fair probe into the incident. Slamming the state government, protesters indulged in sloganeering against Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Nitish Kumar. Seeking speedy justice for the survivors, protesters also demanded a comprehensive and time-bound high-level enquiry with monitoring by the apex court.

General secretary of the National Federation for Indian Women, Annie Raja, said law and order had failed in Bihar and that while crores of rupees were spent on the Centre's much-hyped ' Beti Bachao Beti Padhao ' scheme, Nitish Kumar has "failed" his own state.

"Bihar CM has failed to protect and save the girls in his state. He does not have any right to remain the chief minister. He must resign immediately," saif Raja. She also demanded a high court monitored CBI enquiry into the incident.

Former Rajya Sabha MP Ali Anwar joined ranks with the protestors and demanded a fair probe. "Why were separate FIRs based on the statements of each of the victims not registered when the dates of occurrence of the incidents were different? It's an attempt to cover up the matter. CBI must rectify it and Supreme Court sitting Chief Justice should monitor the case," he said.

Meanwhile, Rajya Sabha MP Manoj Jha questioned PM Modi's "silence" in the case that points to the mental, physical and sexual exploitation of minor residents of the Balika Grih, Muzaffarpur. The sordid stories of exploitation came to light when the Bihar social welfare department filed an FIR based on a social audit of the shelter home conducted by a Mumbai-based institute.

