House of Horrors: Muzaffarpur shelter home case gets a bleaker

NEW DELHI: On Friday, the Supreme Court was told by the CBI that the investigation and questioning conducted by them has revealed that 11 girls from the notorious shelter home are missing and are feared to have been killed.

The inmates, who have spoken of sexual exploitation and missing girls, have given CBI 11 names.

In an affidavit, the CBI said rape survivors spoke of the girls who were said to have been killed by Thakur. It said that, it is verifying the allegations and divulged that it has excavated a bundle of bones from a location where a girl was apparently buried by the accused.

"The victims during their examination in the presence of experts of Nimhans had revealed names of 11 girls who were allegedly murdered by Brajesh Thakur and his accomplices. These allegations are being duly investigated in the right earnest in the instant case by scrutinising the master register maintained at the Balika Grah to locate the bodies and through field-level verification as to the existence of the girls alleged to be murdered," the affidavit said.

The affidavit of the agency came on an application by social activist Nivedita Jha who had alleged that the CBI was trying to protect Thakur and other accused despite the statements given by the victims.

The petition, which was filed through advocate Fauzia Shakil, said the investigation conducted by the CBI was not only "incomplete but ex facie also appeared to be hogwash".

"All efforts were made to trace the perpetrators of crime. After ascertaining the identity of perpetrators through proper investigation, a chargesheet has been filed against them. Investigations regarding the outsiders have been properly carried out and a chargesheet filed against all such persons," the affidavit said.

The petitioner alleged that, in the statements of the victims before the judicial magistrate, references were made to one "ton wale uncle netaji" (politician with a paunch) and to a "mooch wale uncle ji" (uncle with moustache) who would visit the shelter home but the agency did not try to find them.

"It is evident from the statement of the victims that a large-scale prostitution racket was being run by Brajesh Thakur. From the perusal of the chargesheet, it is apparent that the CBI is trying to shield the real perpetrators and has intentionally avoided to investigate the leads given by the victims," the petitioner said.