Patna High Court Pulls up CBI Over Transfer of Cop Investigating Muzaffarpur Shelter Home Case

Patna: The Patna High Court on Thursday came down heavily on the CBI for transferring a senior police officer investigating Muzaffarpur shelter home sex scandal case just days before the first progress report was supposed to be submitted.

The CBI also faced the ire of the court for seeking more time to submit the progress report and coming unprepared for the hearing.

The bench of Chief Justice MR Shah and Ravi Ranjan gave a dressing-down to a junior lawyer came to represent the CBI as its counsel Vipin Bihari Sinha was not present. Quoting reports in the media about possible raids, searches and seizures, the court asked “How reports are getting leaked. This is a serious issue”.

The CBI transferred SP rank officer JP Mishra on August, 21, just two days before the agency was supposed to brief the HC about progress in Muzaffarpur case and handed the task to Devendra Singh who was serving in crime branch at Lucknow.

“What was the need to transfer a senior officer just few weeks after starting investigation. Why it was done?" the court asked. It also told the CBI to furnish the details of investigation on the next hearing on August 27.

Bihar Chief Minsiter Nitish Kumar had on July26, handed over the investigation to CBI into rapes and torture of minor girls at a government sponsored 'Balika Grih', run by main accused Brajesh Thakur's NGO Seva Sankalp Evam Vikas Samiti.

However, just three weeks after starting the probe, the transfer of JP Mishra came as a surprise and the opposition cried foul alleging meddling in the probe by vested interests.

Opposition leader Tejashwi Yadav accused CM Nitish Kumar of trying to scuttle the probe in order to save high profile leaders.