Stick on cop for Muzaffarpur shelter home report

Patna: The police headquarters has suspended an inspector for negligence of duty over the inspection of Swadhar Grih, a shelter home for women in Muzaffarpur that was run by an NGO with which Brajesh Thakur, the arrested key accused in the rape of minor girls at the Balika Grih, was associated.

Anil Kumar Singh, deputy inspector-general (DIG), Tirhut range, initiated the disciplinary proceedings against inspector Vinod Kumar Singh on Tuesday on the recommendation of Muzaffarpur senior superintendent of police (SSP) Harpreet Kaur.

Vinod had gone to the Swadhar Grih – run by Wama Shakti Vahini, associated with Brajesh’s other NGO Seva Sankalp Evam Vikas – on March 20 this year and signed on the inspection report along with officials of the child protection unit, child welfare committee and the civil surgeon of Muzaffarpur.

Altogether 11 women were present at the Swadhar Grih during the inspection. On June 9, when police officers went to the Swadhar Grih after the sexual exploitation of minor girls at Balika Grih came to light, they found all the 11 women and their four children missing and the shelter home closed.

A police complaint was later lodged and on August 1 the cops recovered a huge quantity of sedatives and packets of condoms from the Swadhar Grih.

While the Balika Grih case has been handed over to the CBI, the district police are investigating the Swadhar Grih case. None of the 11 women has been found.

Inspector-general (Tirhut zone) Sunil Kumar on Tuesday reviewed progress in the Swadhar Grih case probe.

On Tuesday, district police and administrative officials also raided a Vridhashram (old-age home) run by Brajesh in Samastipur town. Sources said that the raiding team seized some documents.

Meanwhile, the family members of Brajesh have shifted out of their Muzaffarpur home. The office of a Hindi daily, Pratah Kamal, and the Balika Grih are located on the same premises.

Courtesy: The Telegraph