Patna, July 29: The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has taken over the probe into the alleged rape of minors at a government-run shelter home in Bihar's Muzaffarpur. According to police, as many as 34 girls housed in the Balika Grih shelter home have been subjected to repeated mental, physical and sexual exploitation.

The CBI has registered a case on the request of the Bihar government. A CBI Spokesperson said, "The case has been registered against officers and employees of Balika Grih. It is alleged that officials and employees of (the) children home run by Seva Sankalp Evam Vikash Samiti used to mentality, physically and sexually exploit girl children residing at the children's' home."

The CBI team has arrived in the district, and the Muzaffarpur will soon hand over the case to the investigating agency, said the city police chief Harpreet Kaur. According to reports, Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar on Thursday recommended a CBI probe into the series of rapes in the children home under the pressure of the opposition. The shelter home was sealed after the alleged sexual abuse of the girls was reported during a social audit conducted by the Tata Institute of Social Sciences, Mumbai.

Yesterday, Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) leader Tejashwi Yadav slammed Nitish Kumar-led Bihar government over the incident. Yadav even termed the governance of Kumar as ‘Rakhshas Raj’. Rashtriya Janata Dal leader said, “We are staring at statelessness in Bihar. Women are getting abducted akin to what Ravana did to Sita. Girls are getting raped, abducted. Ravana is now ruling the state."

On July 28, the police confirmed that 34 minor girls were raped inside the shelter home as against an earlier figure of 29. Medical examinations of 42 girls last week revealed that 29 of them were raped.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Jul 29, 2018 03:43 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).