india

Updated: Sep 21, 2018 12:16 IST

The status report of the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) on the Muzaffarpur shelter home sexual abuse case reveals that residents living in the neighbourhood were probably aware of the crime but did not speak out because of the “apparent terror of Brajesh Thakur” who heads the NGO running the home.

A bench of justices MB Lokur and Deepak Gupta perused the CBI’s report on the progress and noted this revelation. Recording this in its order, the bench directed the CBI to look into the antecedents, connections and the influence of Thakur.

“It appears that Brajesh Thakur, in-charge of the NGO Sewa Sankalp Evam Vikas Samiti, is a very influential person and people in the neighbourhood are scared of him and not able to make complaint against him. In fact, it has come out that people heard screaming by the girls in the shelter home but did not bring it to the notice of anybody because of the apparent terror of Brajesh Thakur,” read the order.

On being told by the CBI that arms and ammunition were recovered in huge quantity from former minister for social welfare of Bihar Manju Verma and her husband Chandrashekhar Verma, the court ordered Bihar police to investigate the couple. Verma had to resign following a disclosure that her husband had spoken to Thakur 17 times between January and June.

Directions were also issued to the Income Tax department to look into the assets of the NGO and Thakur after it was found that the NGO had allegedly received Rs 4.5 crore from Bihar in over a decade. It was also noted that, during this period, the NGO purchased 35 vehicles and Thakur’s assets were unclear.

The CBI was ordered to seize records of Bihar’s social welfare department and investigate the transfer of eight girls from the shelter home after a Tata Institute of Social Sciences audit report exposed the alleged sexual abuse of the inmates in May this year. The report did not clarify why the girls were transferred.

Medical examination confirmed sexual abuse of 34 of the 42 inmates.

“The transfer seems to suggest that the social welfare department of Bihar was aware of the unsavoury activities in the shelter home that may have been the reason for the transfer of the victim girls,” the court ordered, seeking the state’s explanation.

Attorney general KK Venugopal, appearing for the CBI, assured the court that the agency will file another status report in a sealed cover within four weeks. The report, the court said, should have the approval of the concerned additional director.

The apex court had on September 18 stayed a Patna High Court order directing the CBI to constitute a fresh CBI team for the case. Despite repeated attempts, Manju Verma could not be reached for comments.