Delhi court convicts 19 in Bihar shelter home case

MUZAFFARPUR CASE Former MLA Brajesh Thakur among those convicted

NEWDELHI: A Delhi court on Monday convicted 19 people, including former MLA and NGO owner Brajesh Thakur, for sexual assault of girls at Muzaffarpur shelter home in Bihar. The judge slated the matter for arguments on quantum of sentence on January 28.

Former Bihar People’s Party (BPP) MLA and owner of NGO Sewa Sankalp Evam Vikas Samiti, Brajesh Thakur, the prime accused in the case, was charged for rape, gang rape under various sections of the POCSO (Protection of Children from Sexual Offences) Act, Juvenile Justice (JJ) Act and criminal conspiracy. The court also acquitted one of the accused in the case.

The accused included 12 men and eight women.

The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) in December 2019 filed a chargesheet against the 21 persons. One of the chargesheeted is absconding.

Thakur and employees of his shelter home, as well as Bihar department of social welfare officials were charged with criminal conspiracy, neglect of duty and failure to report assault on the girls.

Former Bihar social welfare

May 26: TISS submits audit report highlighting incidents of sexual assaults on minor girls in Muzaffarpur shelter home to Bihar govt’s social welfare department

May 29: Bihar govt shifts girls to

other protection homes

May 31: SIT formed to investigate; FIR lodged against 11 including Brajesh Thakur

Jun 14: Bihar's WCD ministry

seals home, rescues 46 girls Aug 2: SC takes cognisance; seeks responses from Central and Bihar govt

Oct 4: CBI informs SC they

recovered skeleton of girl from

minister and the then JD(U) leader Manju Verma also faced flak as allegations surfaced that Thakur had links with her husband. She had resigned from her post on August 8, 2018.

The court had earlier deferred for the third time pronouncement of judgement in the case till January 20 after the petition was filed before it. On December 12, the court had deferred the judg

shelter home

Nov 28: SC transfers case to CBI Feb 7, 2019: SC orders case be transferred to POCSO court at Saket

ment for a second time in the case till January 14 as judge Saurabh Kulshrestha, who had conducted the trial, was on leave.

Earlier in November, the court had deferred by a month till December 12 as the as the accused could not be brought to court premises from jail due to lawyers’ strike in all six district courts in Delhi.

The court had, on March 20,

Jan 8: No evidence of children's

murder, CBI tells SC

Jan 20: Court convicts 19 people, fixes Jan 28 for arguments on quantum of sentence

2018, framed charges against 21 accused — nine women and 13 men — for offences of criminal conspiracy to commit rape and penetrative sexual assault against minors.

The accused include employees of Sewa Sankalp Evam Vikas Samiti run by prime accused Brajesh Thakur, who is currently lodged in Tihar central