President of the Bihar State Commission for Protection of Child Rights, Dr. Harpal Kaur on Friday said that she visited the Muzaffarpur shelter home in 2017 and found that the girls were locked up inside a room.
Kaur also found out that the girls were living in an appalling condition and that there were no educational or developmental facilities available.
After the inspection Kaur, said she had urged the social welfare department to get the shelter house vacated.
Speaking to ANI, Kaur said, "When we visited shelter home in 2017, we saw that the girls were kept locked inside a room. When I questioned why the girls were kept locked, I was told the girls run away so they have to be kept locked."
"51 girls were staying in small premises with no education or health facilities. The girls appeared scared. We had submitted a report to social welfare department suggesting that the shelter home should be vacated," added Kaur.
She also clarified that the girls were pressurised so much that didn't say anything despite her repeated attempts to know why they were so scared. She also submitted a report on the aforementioned but no action was taken.
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Kaur also suggested that in future the concerned authorities should inspect the place before granting permission for opening a Non-Profit Organisation (NGO).
For those unversed, on July 24, 11 employees of the shelter home in Muzaffarpur were arrested for allegedly sexually harassing the girls. On receiving information, the police raided the vicinity and rescued 44 girls.
Speaking on the same, Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar assured strict actions against the culprits, "I would like to assure everyone that no leniency will be shown towards anyone, all those found guilty will be severely punished."
On July 29, the Central Bureau of Investigation registered case against the officers and employees of the shelter home. The CBI registered the case on the request of the Bihar Government and following the notification of the Central Government.
The alleged sexual exploitation of the girls was uncovered more than a month ago by a Mumbai-based social science institute. They had submitted its report in April and the Bihar social welfare department approved another project to the accused Brijesh Thakur on May 31 for beggars' shelter in Patna.