Bihar cancels selection of 50 NGOs for running shelter homes
Patna, Aug 21 : Bihar has cancelled the selection of 50 NGOs for running shelter homes across the state and announced that the government will run them instead, an official said on Tuesday.
The Social Welfare Department will replace the non-government organisations (NGOs) in running all such short stay homes in the state, he added.
The state government took the decision keeping in view the over 30 rape cases and death of two women inmates at the Muzaffarpur home.
The Muzaffarpur horror came to the fore following a social audit by the Tata Institute of Social Sciences (TISS) from Mumbai that pointed at the sorry state of shelter homes run by NGOs in Bihar.
"The government has cancelled NGOs selected recently for running the shelter homes. The Social Welfare Department will take over the management in the next three months," the department official said.
Till then the NGOs will continue to run these shelter homes. Earlier in August, Chief Minister Nitish Kumar had announced this. Nearly 100 NGOs continue to run such homes across the state.
A 100-page report by TISS had stated that sexual abuse -- varying in forms and degrees -- was prevalent in almost all shelter homes in Bihar.The audit was commissioned by the state government in 2017.
It was the TISS report that pointed a finger at Balika Grih in Muzaffarpur run by Brajesh Thakur where 34 of the 41 minor girls housed were raped.
Thakur was named the main accused, arrested and jailed along with nine others. State Social Welfare Minister Manju Verma had to resign.
The Patna High Court is monitoring the Central Bureau of Investigation probe into the incident.
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Bengaluru drug bust: 8 people arrested, total seizures valued at 27.42 cr
Bengaluru (PTI): Eight people, including a foreign national, were arrested for illegally selling drugs in the city, police said on Tuesday.
They seized drugs, vehicles and other items worth Rs 27.42 crores.
According to police, based on credible information received from informants on various dates, officers and staff learned that prohibited narcotic substances such as MDMA, Ganja, and Cocaine were being sold within the limits of Hebbagodi, Yelahanka New Town, Mico Layout, Parappana Agrahara, Bagalur, and Banaswadi Police Stations.
Acting on this information, cases were registered under the NDPS Act in the respective police stations, and raids were conducted at the locations identified by the informants.
"During these operations, a total of 8 accused persons were apprehended on different dates, including one foreign national, and four interstate offenders," Bengaluru Police Commissioner Seemant Kumar Singh told reporters here.
Upon interrogation, the accused confessed that, with the intention of making quick money, they procured narcotic substances such as MDMA, Cocaine, and Ganja at lower prices from unknown foreign and local suppliers and sold them to the public, including college students, he said.
"A total of Rs 13.71 Crores worth drugs and other items have been seized. These include 12 kg 91 grams of MDMA, 275 grams of Cocaine, 34 kg 802 grams of Ganja, 40 grams of gold ornaments (purchased from proceeds of drug sales), 02 two-wheelers used for the offence. The total estimated market value of all these is Rs 27.42 Crores," he added.
The Commissioner further said efforts are on to trace the unknown individuals who supplied the narcotic substances to the accused.
Investigation is underway.
"There is information about the involvement of other foreign nationals, and through FRRO we learned one person has already left the country... interrogations and investigations will continue," he said.
All eight accused have been produced before the court on different dates and have been remanded to judicial custody, officials said.
Noting that in the case under the Electric City division, raids were conducted at five different houses and different quantities of drugs were seized, Singh said, "This is a serious matter as the house was taken for rent and they supplied from there. The information came from the arrest of the foreigner. Total value of seizure in Hebbagodi alone is Rs 27 crore (market value)."
