Nitish Kumar's close associates involved in Muzaffarpur shelter home case, says Tejashwi Yadav

Close associates of Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar are involved in the infamous Muzaffarpur shelter home abuse case, leader of Opposition Tejashwi Yadav alleged Saturday.

"Brijesh Thakur would not have raped 35 girls. There must be some people involved in it. I can guarantee you that people close to Nitish Kumar are involved in this crime," Yadav told ANI here.

The former Bihar deputy Chief Minister urged Governor Lalji Tandon to dismiss Nitish Kumar government in the state.

He said: "I want the Governor to dismiss Nitish Kumar government."

Yadav was reacting to a submission by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) in the Supreme Court on Friday, in which it said that a bundle of bones has been recovered by the agency which may be of the girls allegedly murdered by Thakur and his aides.

In its affidavit filed before a Bench headed by Chief Justice Ranjan Gogoi, the agency said that the local police and the CBI had excavated the alleged burial grounds pointed out by the inmates of the shelter home and that a bundle of bones was recovered from a spot at the instance of one of the accused.

Yadav alleged that people from Janata Dal (United) and the Bharatiya Janata Party were involved in the crime. "People from JDU and BJP are involved in Muzaffarpur shelter home case," he said.

The RJD leader accused Kumar of protecting the accused and demanded his apology.

"Instead of providing justice to victims, he is protecting the accused. At least Nitish Kumar should apologise," the 29-year-old politician said.

The charge sheet filed by the CBI, which is investigating the matter, named 21 people including main accused Brajesh Thakur who used to run the state-funded NGO in Muzaffarpur where minor girls were allegedly sexually abused over a period of time.

The case pertains to 44 girls who used to reside at the state-run shelter home.

Earlier, a Supreme Court bench headed by Chief Justice Ranjan Gogoi had transferred the trial of the case from Bihar to a Delhi court and ordered the judge to complete it within six months.

The apex court on October 31 last year had also rapped the Bihar Police for its failure in arresting former state minister Manju Verma, who came under scrutiny after it was found that her husband Chandrashekhar Verma allegedly had links with Thakur.

-ANI