Ravana, Duryodhan Ruling Bihar, Says Tejashwi as Probe Reveals 34 Girls Were Raped in Shelter Home

Patna: Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) leader Tejashwi Yadav on Saturday said Bihar was under “rakshas raj” (demonic rule) as police revealed that as many as 34 minor girls housed in a state-funded shelter home in Muzaffarpur district had been raped as against the earlier figure of 29.

“Yahan toh Draupadi ka cheerharan ho raha hai, Duryodhana kar raha hai. Sita maiya ka apharan Ravana kar raha hai. Yahan toh Rakshas Raj kaayam ho gaya hai. Ravana aur Duryodhana ki sarkar chal rahi hai,” Yadav said, criticising the law and order situation in the state under Nitish Kumar.

Muzaffarpur senior superintendent of police (SSP) Harpreet Kaur on Saturday said, “It was not 29, but 34 girls who were raped at the Muzaffarpur shelter home.” Muzaffarpur zone IG Sunil Kumar also confirmed the figure.

Medical examinations of 42 girls last week revealed that 29 of them were raped. Under pressure from the opposition, chief minister Nitish Kumar had on Thursday recommended a CBI probe.

The sexual exploitation had come to light in the report of a social audit conducted by the Tata Institute of Social Sciences, Mumbai. An FIR was subsequently registered on a complaint by the state social welfare department and 10 persons, including the patron of the NGO which ran the shelter home and the then district child protection officer, were arrested.

The National Human Rights Commission had sent a notice to the Bihar government and the state's police chief in connection with the sexual exploitation, observing that authorities have "failed miserably" in protecting their dignity.

"A shelter home is supposed to give security and protection to girls but under no stretch of imagination, can the shelter home be a playground for predators for their monstrous and vulturous activities, which are against the human dignity and sobriety of the women," the rights panel said.