Bihar mass rapes: CBI takes charge

The CBI on Sunday took over the case of mass rapes in a shelter home in Muzaffarpur district in Bihar.

No less than 34 minor girls were victimised at the shelter, it is alleged.

They were sedated, raped, beaten up and threatened -the cycle repeated night after night, the survivors have revealed to NDTV. The girls all below the age of 18 - alleged that they were given "keede maarne ki dawa" (drugs) which made them unconscious. They always woke up naked and in pain, they said.

All the girls, whose medical reports have confirmed rape, have named Muzaffarpur Child Protection Officer Ravi Kumar Roshan and Brajesh Thakur in their statements before the SubDivisional Magistrate. Brajesh Thakur, who ran the NGO, and Roshan have both been arrested.

Significantly, the move to institute a CBI inquiry comes a day after the Congress demanded a Supreme Court-monitored CBI inquiry into the incident and sought to draw Prime Minister Narendra Modi's attention towards such crimes.

The shelter home was sealed after the sexual abuse came to light during a social audit by the Tata Institute of Social Sciences, Mumbai. The report was submitted to the state Social Welfare Department, which directed officials to lodge a complaint.

In their statements, the girls said they were made to wear skimpy clothes and dance in front of Ravi Kumar Roshan and outsiders. "Roshan and the men would consume alcohol and touch us inappropriately. If we refused, Roshan would beat us," a girl said.