Muzaffarpur Shelter Home Case: CBI Will Not Probe Bihar CM Nitish Kumar, Say Lawyers

The court also ordered an inquiry against Muzaffarpur District Magistrate Dharmendra Singh and Principal Secretary of Social Welfare Atul Prasad.

Patna: The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) will not probe Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar in connection with shelter home rape cases, said lawyers later on Saturday evening. Explaining the special court’s judgment, lawyers said it is a normal procedure and no action will be taken against Kumar.

The ruling JD(U) even said that the special Protection of Children From Sexual Offences (POCSO) court at Muzaffarpur did not any order directing the CBI to probe against Chief Minister Nitish Kumar and others by an accused in the shelter home sex scandal, as per reports.

A special POCSO court had ordered a CBI probe against Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar in connection with the Bihar shelter home rape cases, said a report on Saturday morning. (Also read: CBI Files Chargesheet in POCSO Court Against All Accused)

According to a leading portal, the court also ordered an inquiry against Muzaffarpur District Magistrate Dharmendra Singh and Principal Secretary of Social Welfare Atul Prasad.

The Nitish Kumar government has anyway been pulled up by the Supreme Court for not submitting details of shelter homes in Bihar. The apex court then transferred the trial to the Saket court in New Delhi.

The Supreme Court bench, headed by Chief Justice of India Ranjan Gogoi, said the cases should be transferred from the Bihar CBI court to a POCSO Saket trial court within two weeks. It also ordered the trial court to conclude the trial within six months.

CJI Gogoi had said, “Enough is enough. Children cannot be treated like this. You cannot let your officers treat children this way. Spare the children.”

There have been reports on how the girls, who were raped and starved by the administration and visitors at the Muzaffarpur shelter home, revealed that they used to cut their hands and legs to avoid being tortured and forced into “ganda kaam (sexual abuse)”.

A leading daily quoted one of the girls alleging that the administration of the shelter home used to mix sedatives in their food and made them sleep naked. The sedatives were called “kide ki dawai”.

The Supreme Court had transferred 16 cases related to the sexual and mental exploitation of children in Bihar shelter homes to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI). The court had then asked CBI to file a status report by January 31.

The CBI is probing the Muzaffarpur shelter home case. The court has now asked for the trial to be completed in six months’ time.

The Supreme Court bench said the Bihar chief secretary will be summoned if the lawyer representing the state cannot answer its questions.