Patna: The alleged gang rape of a former inmate of the infamous Muzaffarpur shelter indicates “sheer lawlessness” in Bihar, the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) has said in its notice to the Bihar government, even as police cast doubt about the incident, saying the medical report does not support the victim’s “claims”.
An 18-year-old former inmate of the Muzaffarpur shelter for destitute women and girls, where a sexual abuse scandal was uncovered last year, has claimed that she was gang-raped by four men in a moving SUV in West Champaran district Friday.
A video of the woman, her identity concealed by a niqab, narrating her ordeal has since gone viral.
The victim is currently undergoing treatment at a local hospital, while police have made four arrests in connection with the case.
The NHRC took suo motu notice of the case Monday and served a notice on the Bihar chief secretary and the director general of police, seeking a report on the incident.
The human rights panel has described the woman as a victim of the state’s apathy.
“She was unfortunately among the victims of sexual abuse at Muzaffarpur Girls Home, about five years back. The victimisation of the girl twice, indicates towards sheer lawlessness in the state of Bihar,” the NHRC said in its notice.
“The criminals are committing heinous crimes at their free will, without any fear of law,” it added. “After the infamous incident of sexual abuse of the inmates, which occurred in Muzaffarpur district of Bihar and jolted the nation, the state machinery and the law enforcing agencies should have been more vigilant so that no anti-social elements could gather the courage to commit an offence harming dignity of a woman.”
Meanwhile, police in Bihar have raised questions about the victim’s claim.
“The medical report does not support the claim of the victim. However, we are continuing the investigation on the basis of her statement,” Bettiah superintendent of police Jayant Kant told ThePrint. “We are thinking of providing security to her family.”
Also read: Brajesh Thakur, accused in Muzaffarpur shelter home case, allegedly killed 11 girls: CBI
A murky saga
The Muzaffarpur sexual abuse case came to light in April last year, following an audit by the Mumbai-based Tata Institute of Social Sciences, which discovered large-scale sexual abuse of inmates at a state government-funded shelter owned by local strongman Brajesh Thakur.
According to the audit, as many as 34 of 44 inmates at the shelter, including minors, had been sexually abused. Soon, similar assaults were reported from at least 16 other rescue homes in Bihar.
The opposition has attacked the Nitish Kumar administration over its allegedly close ties with prime accused Thakur, and former state minister Manju Verma resigned after her husband was found to have been a regular visitor at the shelter. Both subsequently surrendered in connection with an Arms Act case, filed after the investigation into the sexual abuse case allegedly led police to discover weapons at their house.
Also read: Supreme Court allows 8 girls from Muzaffarpur shelter home to reunite with families