Muzaffarpur Shelter Home Case: Main accused should be shifted outside Bihar, says SC

The Supreme Court today expressed shock at the findings of the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) report in the Muzaffarpur shelter home case, stating that the main accused Brajesh Thakur should be shifted outside Bihar..The Bench of Justices Madan B Lokur, S Abdul Nazeer, and Deepak Gupta stated that the findings of the CBI report submitted by Senior Advocate Ranjit Kumar appearing for the State of Bihar were “very scary.”.The Court noted that the report revealed shocking details of how the crimes were committed and added that the accused appeared to be highly influential. The Court said,.“It is very shocking. What is the Bihar government doing…Brajesh Thakur is a very influential man and is obstructing the ongoing probe.”.The Court has said that in view of the influence wielded by Thakur, he should be shifted to a jail outside Bihar..The Court has, therefore, issued notice to Thakur seeking his reply on why he should not be shifted outside Bihar in order to facilitate a free and fair investigation..The State of Bihar supported the Court’s view of shifting Thakur outside Bihar..In September this year, the Supreme Court had directed the CBI to investigate the matter. More specifically, the influence and power wielded by Brajesh Thakur – the person in charge of the NGOs that were managing the shelter homes in Muzaffarpur – was ordered to be probed..The case pertains to the rape and sexual abuse of inmates of a shelter home in Muzaffarpur, which was brought to the notice of the police in May this year. The matter eventually reached the courts, with the Patna High Court passing a gag order on reporting of the case. On an appeal against this order, the Supreme Court lifted the blanket ban on media coverage, urging the press to tread cautiously instead.