Muzaffarpur shelter home: CBI tells court most victims were minors

The CBI on Tuesday told the court that most of the victims in Muzaffarpur shelter home sexual assault case were minors.

The Special Public Prosecutor (SPP) for the agency told the court that the victims' ossification test, done to determine age, has shown that except for one or two, all of them were under 18 years of age.

Along with the reports of the ossification test, the agency also submitted in court other medical records of the victims.

The apex court had on February 7 ordered that the shelter home sexual assault case be transferred from Bihar to a Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) court at Saket district court complex here, which would conclude the trial within six months by holding preferably "day-to-day" hearing.

Several girls were allegedly raped and sexually abused at an NGO-run shelter home in Muzaffarpur, Bihar. The issue had come to light following a report by the Tata Institute of Social Sciences (TISS).

The counsel appearing for Brajesh Thakur, the prime accused in the sexual assault case and accused Shaista Parveen alias Madhu, Vicky and Hema, addressed arguments on the point of charge.

The counsel appearing for Thakur said that the only allegation against him was that he was the de-facto owner of the shelter home, which he wasn't as it was being run by an NGO.

"There is allegation against the shelter home. The shelter home is not a private entity. It is a government constituted organisation. I cannot be the de facto owner," Thakur's counsel said.

To this, the judge asked, "Whose property is it? Who is the owner of the property?"