Bihar: Inmates say girl buried at shelter, police dig for body

SSP Harpreet Kaur said: “We have complied with the court order but did not find anything. Soil samples have been collected for forensic tests.”

Executive Magistrate Sheela Kumari said she would submit her report to district magistrate.

The short stay home, which was run by an NGO, was shut in May after a case of sexual exploitation was lodged against the owners of the home following a social audit report by Tata Institute of Social Sciences (TISS). All 47 inmates staying there were shifted to shelter homes in Patna, Madhubani and Mokama.

TISS was engaged by Bihar government’s social welfare department to conduct a social audit of all 110 short stay homes for women and girls. The institute had found large-scale complaints of sexual explotation at the Muzaffarpur home.

“After 10 people were arrested and some of them booked under POCSO Act, several girls recorded their statements under Section 164 of CrPC. As two girls alleged murder and burial of a girl at the Muzaffarpur home, the local court took note and asked the police to dig up the spot to find evidence,” said a police officer, adding that either the girls’ statements were based on heresay or they had not identified the correct spot.

Police had filed two cases of sexual exploitation at short stay homes in Muzaffarpur and Chhapra.

Sources said the TISS report, which was not made public, had mentioned several inmates alleging sexual exploitation at various stay homes.