Sedatives and secret stairs found in home

PATNA: The ongoing probe into the sexual exploitation of inmates at the Muzaffarpur shelter home has come up with more startling revelations as the police team recovered medical equipment and sedatives from the home giving credence to the allegations that the girls were raped after being drugged.

A team comprising IG, Tirhut zone, Sunil Kumar and DIG Anil Kumar carried out the inspection on Saturday. A forensic team also comprising two doctors accompanied the police officials. “We also found a secret staircase that connected the home with a newspaper office running in the two-storied building,” a police officer, who was part of the team, said.

There are allegations that shelter home authorities, in connivance with the promoters of the NGO, also carried out abortions of girls became pregnant. So far 11 persons have been arrested including Brajesh Thakur, who was the promoter of the NGO and also the newspaper.

Police officials said the staircase may have been used by those who exploited the girls. The forensic team also collected several bed sheets and clothes of the inmates to look for semen stains. Meanwhile, Opposition RJD accused the husband of social welfare minister Manju Verma of being a regular visitor at the home. The minister has refuted the charges.

Also, in a press note issued from Delhi, All India Congress Committee leaders including state-in-charge Shaktisinh Gohil, said BJP-JDU-RULED Bihar is in the grip of complete lawlessness. “A government and a CM who was known for empowering women and girl children through bicycles, prohibition and reservation, preside over a regime where girls in shelter homes are being sexually exploited by the state...” the press note said.