What is the Muzaffarpur shelter case about?
The Muzaffarpur Shelter case also known as the Muzaffarpur Shelter Home Rape Case narrates the crimes committed in an NGO called Seva Sankalp Evam Vikas Samiti which was located in Bihar, India. It was reported that the shelter home that housed 42 orphan girls had cases of sexual abuse, rape and torture.
The case inspired the Netflix movie – Bhakshak and the people involved in running the NGO, especially the chief – Brajesh Thakur were all accused of sexually abusing the orphan girls that lived in the shelter home.
Despite the gravity of the crimes committed at the shelter home, there was a delay in the investigation due to Brajesh Thakur’s political connections. Reports also allege that government officials were also involved in the sexual abuse, further delaying the investigation of this case.
What happened to Brajesh Thakur?
Brajesh Thakur, the prime accused in Muzaffarpur shelter home case was the chief of the NGO that housed 34 girls between ages 7 and 17. Among the 11 people accused were Brajesh Thakur and the Former-District Child Protection Officer. The case was transferred to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) in February 2019.
Brajesh Thakur and 18 others were convicted in January 2020. Brajesh Thakur was convicted and sentenced to life imprisonment for criminal conspiracy, causing hurt by dangerous weapons or means, voluntarily causing hurt and those relating to abetment, failure to report the commission of an offence, and cruelty to a child.
Others accused in the case, namely, Shaista Praveen, Indu Kumari, Minu Devi, Manju Devi, Chanda Devi, Neha Kumari, Hema Masih, and Kiran Kumari were held guilty of criminal conspiracy, abetment to rape, cruelty to child and failure to report commission of an offence. Moreover, Dilip Kumar Verma, Ravi Roshan, Vikas Kumar, Vijay Kumar Tiwari, Rama Shankar Singh, Ashwani, Guddu Patel, Kishan Kumar and Ramanuj Thakur were also held guilty in the case on various counts.
Where is Brajesh Thakur now?
After his arrest, Brajesh Thakur challenged the verdict in the Delhi High Court. Brajesh appealed that the Bihar Police and the CBI failed to conduct a “potency test” on him. He also appeals that despite examining his wife, her statement was not placed on record by the prosecution. According to Brajesh, the prosecution failed to prove the fact that an accused who is charged with rape is capable of committing rape.
Presently, Brajesh Thakur is in prison as he tries to challenge the verdict of the Muzaffarpur Shelter case. Horrifying witness testimonies found in “House of Horrors” in the Indian English Magazine – The Caravan detail how Brajesh was allegedly involved in the rape and brutal murder of several of his underage victims.
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