Sexual abuse at Bihar shelter homes: SC orders CBI to take over

New Delhi, Nov 28: The Supreme Court has ordered the Central Bureau of Investigation to take over the probe into 17 shelter homes in Bihar.

On Tuesday while making stinging observations the court had said that it would decide on whether or not to transfer all the cases to the CBI.

The SC on Wednesday directed the CBI to investigate the "gamut of allegations" of abuse, torture in 17 Bihar shelter homes for children, destitutes, beggars and senior citizens. The order comes in the aftermath of sexual abuse against children being reported in a Muzzafarnagar shelter home.

The Court had taken to task the Bihar government for not filing FIRs in cases of sodomy of children in shelter homes. The observation was made during the hearing on the Muzzafarpur shelter home case.

The court also pulled up the Bihar government over its failure to correct the FIR and also gave it 24 hours time to add charges under Section 377 and also POCSO Act. If we find that there were offences committed under the above mentioned sections and you did not register an FIR, then we will pass orders against you, the court observed.

What you are doing is shameful. If the child is sodomised you say it is nothing. How can you do this. We were told that the matter would be looked into with all seriousness. This is inhuman what you are doing the court orally observed.

Justice Deepak Gupta observed, ' every time I read this file, I am hit by the tragedy of the case. It is tragic. My hair stands on its ends.' Justice Madan Lokur said that the child wanted to talk to her parents, but was denied permission. She has lost her mental balance. A child has been sodomised and the Bihar government says that it will file an FIR after a week. Usually police registers an FIR under the most serious offences. Here it is otherwise. The truth is not coming out, the court further said.

The attitude of the state is extremely unfortunate, tragic and shameless to say the least. Are these children lesser citizens of the country, the court further sought to know.