A Criminal Neglect
Authorities took over a month to wake up to the racket
October 2017 A team of the Tata Institute of Social Sciences (TISS) visits Balika Griha, a shelter for girls run by local strongman Brajesh Thakur’s NGO in Muzaffarpur, and interviews inmates for a social audit
November 2017 Bihar State Commission for Protection of Child Rights chairperson Harpal Kaur recommend shifting of the shelter home December 2017 Muzaffarpur’s district magistrate sends a reminder April 26, 2018 TISS submits its first report to state social welfare principal secretary Atul Prasad. The report points to sexual exploitation of inmates at the shelter. Instead of taking immediate action, the department asks TISS to submit an ‘edited and printable’ version of the report May 9 TISS submits a revised report. Social welfare department floats a tender for the publication of copies of the report May 26 The report is distributed among district officials at a meeting in Patna May 31 Finally, an FIR is registered against Thakur’s NGO Sewa Sankalp
Evam Vikas Samiti; 44 inmates are shifted to shelters in Patna, Mokama and Madhubani June 3 Thakur is arrested. Medical tests of the inmates confirm rape and sexual abuse July 26 Chief Minister Nitish Kumar recommends a CBI probe July 29 The CBI takes over August 6 The Patna High Court agrees to monitor the case
August 8 Bihar social welfare minister Manju Verma resigns after Thakur’s call records point to his close links with her spouse Chandreshwar Verma
DAMAGE CONTROL
A week after the CBI took over the case, Bihar’s social welfare department suspended 14 district officials across the state for negligence of duty. Among them are Devesh Sharma, additional director of social welfare, and his counterparts in six districts. The TISS report points to violence and abuse in 15 shelter homes run by NGOs in the state