It has left us with a sense of shame and guilt. We want CBI's probe to be monitored by Patna High Court.
Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar said on Friday he felt ashamed and a sense of guilt, two months after reports of 34 girls being raped over a period of time in a state-funded shelter home in Muzaffarpur shocked the country.
He called for a punishment that would ensure no one would dares to commit such crimes. He promised the guilty would be punished and said, "The crime has left us with a sense of shame and guilt. We want the CBI probe to be monitored by the Patna High Court."
Instances of sexual exploitation of the inmates of "Balika Grih" run by NGO Seva Sankalp Evam Vikas Samiti were reported by Mumbai-based Tata Institute of Social Sciences (TISS) in June. Altogether 42 girls were lodged at the facility at that time.
Kumar said there must be an institutional mechanism to stop such crimes. He was speaking during the launch of Mukhya Mantri Kanya Utthaan Yojana.
"What kind of mentalities people have… It is a sin, an abomination that has ashamed the entire state. We need to plug loopholes so that such crimes are never repeated," he said in his first remarks on the case.
"All of us need to work together to bring about awareness and social change. We need to be very careful. There are some people who indulge in bad deeds for power or money. The society needs to be alert," he said.
Opposition RJD called for a day-long dharna followed by a candle march at Jantar Mantar in New Delhi. Party leader Tejashwi Prasad Yadav will lead the dharna and march against the "national shame".
The owner of the girls' shelter, Brajesh Thakur, is said to have political connections. Yadav asked Kumar to explain who he was trying to protect.
On Thursday, the Supreme Court banned the media from using photographs of the survivors. The court also issued notices to the Centre and the Bihar government.
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
 "Nitish Kumar")
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
)
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
)
)
)
)
)
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}