This staircase connects the Muzaffarpur shelter home where 34 minor girls were allegedly raped to a printing press owned by Thakur.

A secret staircase connects the Muzaffarpur shelter home where 34 minor girls were allegedly raped to a printing press owned by Brajesh Thakur, the prime accused in the case.

The press belongs to Pratah Kamal, a Hindi daily. Only a small group of people that included Thakur knew about the staircase leading to the shelter.

Girls aged between 7 and 17 have alleged that they were raped and sexually assaulted in the home. Most of them suffer from speech-impairment. The police say they were given sedatives with dinner and then raped at night.

The case came to light when Bihar's social welfare department filed an FIR based on a social audit of the shelter home, conducted by the Tata Institute of Social Sciences in Mumbai.

On May 31, an FIR was registered against 11 people, including Thakur -- who was arrested in the first week of June.

Now, Thakur has been taken to hospital; he complained of chest pain and hypertension.

Inputs from Rohit Kumar Singh

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