Six officials suspended after minors raped

Those sanctioned were working as assistant directors of Child Protection Units

The government in Bihar has suspended six officials in the Social Welfare Department for sitting on a report prepared by an independent agency, which exposed the sexual abuse of girls in a state-run shelter home.

As many as 34 girls were allegedly raped multiple times at the home in Muzaffarpur town, police have confirmed.

The suspension orders were issued late on Saturday night.

The officials placed under suspension were working as assistant directors of Child Protection Units in various places including Muzaffarpur, Munger, Araria, Madhubani, Bhagalpur and Bhojpur districts.

The officials in question have been charged with “failure to take adequate legal action” with regard to sexual exploitation of girls at the home.

Gandhi, Kejriwal protest

The government cracked down on the erring officials shortly after opposition parties headed by Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) leader Tejashwi Yadav staged a sit-in at Delhi’s Jantar Mantar on Saturday evening and launched scathing attacks on the state government for turning a blind eye to the continued sexual abuse of girls at the care home and then sitting on the report of the independent agency which highlighted the horror.

The symbolic protest which was followed by a candle march to seek justice for the victims turned out to be a great success after it was joined by scores of national opposition leaders, including Congress chief Rahul Gandhi, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, Sitaram Yechury of the Communist Party of India-Marxist, D. Raja of the Communist Party of India, Dinesh Trivedi of the Trinamool Congress and Sharad Yadav from Loktantrik Janat Dal.