Patna: Political leaders cutting across the party lines welcomed a Delhi court’s verdict convicting former legislator Brajesh Thakur and 18 others of sexually and physically assaulting girls at a shelter home in Bihar’s Muzaffarpur.
Opposition Rashtriya Janata Dal leader Rabri Devi lauded the verdict even as she insisted that chief minister Nitish Kumar’s government owed an apology to the girls, who sought shelter and protection, for the brutality inflicted on them. “The innocent girls are still crying over the cruelty of governance. The tears of helpless girls will not go waste,” she said.
The abuse at the shelter home had sparked countrywide outrage. Manju Verma, a former leader of the state’s ruling Janata Dal (United) or JD (U), was forced to resign as Bihar’s social welfare minister in August 2018 after it emerged that her husband, Chandrashekar Verma, had links with Thakur.
Former deputy chief minister Tejashwi Prasad Yadav said that “the dearest disciple of Nitish Kumar, Brajesh Thakur, has been pronounced guilty”. In a tweet, Tejashwi Yadav asked Kumar why Manju Verma was removed from the cabinet.
JD (U) leader and minister Neeraj Kumar sought severe punishment for the convicts and credited the government for enduring justice in the case. “The government ordered a social audit of shelter homes across the state. It lodged FIR [First Information Report] and asked for a CBI [Central Bureau of Investigation] inquiry in accordance with the public sentiment. The government also asked for a court-monitored inquiry into the case.”
{{/usCountry}}JD (U) leader and minister Neeraj Kumar sought severe punishment for the convicts and credited the government for enduring justice in the case. “The government ordered a social audit of shelter homes across the state. It lodged FIR [First Information Report] and asked for a CBI [Central Bureau of Investigation] inquiry in accordance with the public sentiment. The government also asked for a court-monitored inquiry into the case.”
{{/usCountry}}Reacting to Tejashwi Yadav’s comments, the minister said he was lowering the dignity of the position he holds.
Congress leader Prem Chandra Mishra called the court’s verdict a victory of the truth. “However, justice to the victims would not be complete until all persons, who extended patronage to the kingpin and those in power who indulged in covering up the heinous crime, are penalised. It was a government patronised crime. A lot many white-collared, who provided patronage to Thakur and were part of the exploitative syndicate, are still out of the probe ambit,” said Mishra, while urging the government to reveal their names.
Bharatiya Janata Party leader and agriculture minister Prem Kumar said the verdict had sent out a strong signal that no one involved in such crimes would be spared. “We hail the judgment. It would also serve as a deterrent... Our Prime Minister Narendra Modi has been striving hard to encourage girls to get educated and become self-reliant. Any crime against women will not be tolerated.”