Muzaffarpur/Patna: A girl at a government-funded shelter home here has alleged that an inmate was beaten to death and buried in the premises and several other girls were raped, prompting the police to dig up the ground to look for the body. Sexual exploitation of girls lodged at the shelter home in Bihar had come to light in a social audit by a Mumbai-based institute, following which the state social welfare department lodged an FIR in this connection last month and 10 people were arrested.
The police are, however, yet to find the body after digging up the ground. The opposition RJD raised the issue in both the Legislative Assembly and the Council demanding a CBI inquiry into the allegations and claimed that the scandal involved many “well connected people” whom the Nitish Kumar government was trying to shield. Muzaffarpur SSP Harpreet Kaur told reporters, “We are carrying out the excavation based on the statement given by one of the girls. The spot has been identified by her.”
“Nothing has so far been found from the site during the excavation. However, the area of excavation might be enlarged after further examination of the girl who had alleged in her testimony that one of the inmates had been beaten to death,” the officer said. Medical examination reports have revealed that at least 16 minor girls were raped during their stay in the shelter home. Girls were later shifted to various shelter homes.
The incident drew sharp criticism from political parties with the opposition RJD demanding a CBI inquiry into the allegations of sexual exploitation of girls at the shelter home. The matter surfaced in March when Mumbai based Tata Institute of Social Sciences had found sexual assault victims in Muzaffarpur shelter homes but the audit department paid no heed to it.
