Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar on Monday announced that all shelter homes in the State will now be run by the government.
“Now no shelter home will be run by NGOs and the government will provide building and other infrastructure to run them”, Mr. Kumar told journalists at his weekly ''Lok Samvad'' (public interaction) programme.
He reiterated that those involved in the Muzaffarpur shelter home rapes case would not be spared at any cost and would be sent to jail.
“If someone at the minister level is found to be involved, they too will be punished”, he said.
BJP leader wants Minister to go
Senior State BJP leader C.P. Thakur had demanded the resignation of State Social Welfare Minister Manju Verma in connection with the case.
“The scandal points to huge lapses on the part of the social welfare department... how could the department be unaware of such a huge racket taking place right under its nose?”, he said.
Ms. Verma’s husband was accused by the wife of one those arrested in the case of frequently visiting the shelter home. But the Minister has denied the charge.
On the continuous protest of the Opposition parties on the issue, Mr. Kumar said that “it was held to scuttle the debate on corruption. The political leaders protesting against the incident are not concerned about girls but only want to change the debate.”
When asked why the main accused, Brajesh Thakur, was shifted to hospital after his arrest, Mr. Kumar said, “Why are you asking me this? Ask the secretary in charge of the social service and the police department…please call the Home Secretary.”
High Court's directive
Meanwhile, hearing a petition, the Patna High Court ordered that the court would monitor the CBI inquiry into the case. Accepting the request of Advocate General Lalit Kishore, the Chief Justice Rajendra Menon instructed CBI SP to submit documents related to the inquiry to the court.
The Advocate General requested the Patna High Court for a speedy trial for the accused persons in the case, and the court said there would be a special court designated to monitor the case.
