Bihar Cancels Selection Of 50 NGOs For Running Shelters

Taking a serious note of the rape incidents and death of women inmates at a shelter home in Bihar’s Muzaffarpur district, the Bihar government has cancelled the selection of 50 NGOs for running shelter homes across the state. NGOs in the state will now be run by the government itself, said an official.

According to the official, the Social Welfare Department will replace the NGOs and the department will now be held responsible for running all such short home stays in the state.

Also: SC Slams Bihar Govt On Muzzafarpur Shelter Rapes

"The government has cancelled NGOs selected recently for running the shelter homes. The Social Welfare Department will take over the management in the next three months," the department official said

The NGOs will continue to run these shelter homes till then.

This decision came in view of over 30 rape cases and death of two women inmates at the Muzaffarpur shelter home. The reports of repeated sexual abuse in Muzaffarpur surfaced after an audit report by Mumbai’s Tata Institute of Social Sciences (TISS). The report from Mumbai exposed the horrifying incidents of Muzaffarpur’s shelter home.

The 100-page TISS report had stated that sexual abuse varying in forms and degrees was prevalent in almost all Bihar shelter homes. The audit was commissioned by the state government in 2017. The institute submitted its report in April this year.

The report exposed the horrifying incident of rape of minor girls at Balika Grih in Muzaffarpur. Brajesh Thakur, owner of the Muzaffarpur shelter home was named the main accused. Thakur, the main accused, is arrested and jailed along with nine others. State social welfare minister Kumari Manju Verma resigned over the allegations against her husband. Her husband was accused of having links with the alleged mastermind of the Muzaffarpur shelter home case.

Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) is probing the case and the Patna High Court is monitoring CBI’s probe.

Also Read: 11 Women Missing From Another Shelter Home In Bihar

Deepali Is An Intern With SheThePeople.TV