Muzaffarpur shelter home rape case: SC grants 3 months to CBI to complete probe, examine murder angle

New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Monday granted three months time to the CBI to complete its probe, including into the murder aspect, in the Muzaffarpur shelter home case. Several girls were sexually and physically assaulted at an NGO-run shelter home in Muzaffarpur and the issue had come to light following a report by the Tata Institute of Social Sciences (TISS). [caption id=“attachment_4826251” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] Representational image, Muzaffarpur. News18[/caption] A vacation bench comprising of Justices Indu Malhotra and MR Shah directed the CBI to also investigate allegations of unnatural sexual assault under Section 377 of the Indian Penal Code and probe video recordings of the assault on girls at the shelter home. The bench asked the probe agency to also investigate the role of outsiders who were involved and facilitated sexual assault of inmates after administering them intoxicants. The apex court directed the CBI to submit its report before it within three months in the case. It had earlier directed the probe agency to complete by 3 June its probe into the alleged murder of 11 girls at the shelter home and asked the agency to file a status report. The CBI had told the court that completion of the probe on this aspect “will not be possible” within the two weeks’ time granted to it. It had said that 11 girls were murdered and as per its recent affidavit filed in the apex court, it was found that there were a total of 35 girls with identical names who at one time or the other had stayed there. In the affidavit, the probe agency had told the court that 11 girls were allegedly murdered by key accused Brajesh Thakur and his accomplices and a “bundle of bones” was recovered from a burial ground in Muzaffarpur. The probe into the case was transferred to the CBI and the agency has charge sheeted 21 people, including Thakur. The CBI had said that allegations regarding involvement of outsiders, who used to physically or sexually abuse the girls, have been properly investigated by them and the accused have also been charge sheeted as per revelation made by victims. The apex court in February transferred the case from Bihar to a Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) court in Saket District Court complex in Delhi. On 28 November last year, the top court had directed the CBI to conduct a probe into allegations of physical and sexual abuse of inmates in 16 other shelter homes in Bihar which were flagged in the TISS report.