Muzaffarpur shelter home case: 19 of 20 accused convicted

A Delhi court on Monday found 19 people guilty of various charges, including sexually abusing several girls, at a shelter home in Muzaffarpur, Bihar. The guilty include Brajesh Thakur, the prime accused in the sexual and physical assault on inmates of the Muzaffarpur shelter home.

Thakur has been convicted on the charge of rape. The trial court will hear arguments on quantum of sentence for the convicts at 11am on January 28.

The court had on March 20, 2018, framed charges against the accused, including Thakur, for offences of criminal conspiracy to commit rape and penetrative sexual assault against minors. The accused included eight women and 12 men. One of the accused persons was acquitted.

The court had held trial for the offences of rape, sexual assault, sexual harassment, drugging of minors, criminal intimidation among other charges.

Thakur and employees of his shelter home, as well as Bihar department of social welfare officials, were charged with criminal conspiracy, neglect of duty and failure to report assault on the girls.

The charges also included offence of cruelty to children under their authority, punishable under the Juvenile Justice Act.

All the accused, who appeared before the court, pleaded innocence and claimed trial.

The offences entail a maximum punishment of life imprisonment.

The matter had come to light after the Tata Institute of Social Sciences (TISS) submitted a report to the Bihar government on May 26, 2018, highlighting the alleged sexual abuse of minor girls in the shelter home for the first time.

The Supreme Court had on August 2 last year, taken cognisance of the alleged sexual assault of about 30 minor girls in Muzaffarpur's shelter home and transferred the probe to the CBI on November 28.