Shelter home rapes: Why Bihar against CBI probe, asks Tejashwi
Patna, July 25: An opposition delegation led by RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav on Wednesday alleged that the Bihar government is trying to save the main accused in the rape case involving dozen minor girls at a shelter home in Muzaffarpur.
The delegation made the observation after visiting Muzaffarpur to assess the ongoing police probe. The delegation members discussed the case with district officials associated with the probe.
"We are looking into whether the probe is moving in the right direction or not. The state government is trying to suppress the case facts to save the main accused," said Tejashwi, who is also Leader of the Opposition in the Assembly.
Tejashwi reiterated that the accused had links with the ruling Janata Dal-United, Bharatiya Janata Party and government officials.
"The government is trying to save the accused. Why is police not taking main accused Brijesh Thakur on remand to interrogate him?" he asked.
The former Deputy Chief Minister said that his Rashtriya Janata Dal, the Congress and Hindustani Awam Morcha of former Chief Minister Jitan Ram Manjhi -- all partners in the Grand Alliance -- have already demanded a Patna High Court monitored CBI probe into the case.
"If Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh is ready for a CBI probe, why is the state reluctant to recommend it," the opposition leader remarked.
RJD leaders and supporters raised the issue of shelter home rapes both inside and outside the Assembly here on Wednesday.
Amid growing demands for a CBI probe, Bihar Police chief K.S. Dwivedi on Tuesday said that there was no need since the police probe is satisfactory.
Muzaffarpur Senior Superintendent of Police Harpreet Kaur said that the shelter home had been sealed after cases of sexual abuse came to light during a social audit by the Tata Institute of Social Sciences, Mumbai.
Last week, medical examination of 44 shelter home inmates revealed that 21 were raped. The district police has arrested an official but the main accused are still out.
Let the Truth be known. If you read VB and like VB, please be a VB Supporter and Help us deliver the Truth to one and all.
Bypoll: Wayanad witnesses brisk polling
Wayanad/Thrissur(Kerala) (PTI): During the first hour of voting, Wayanad Lok Sabha and the Chelakkara assembly seats in Kerala witnessed a turnout of 6.96 and 7.2 per cent, respectively on Wednesday.
People started arriving early in the morning at the 1,354 polling booths in the hill constituency of Wayanad where there are over 14 lakh registered voters, according to the Election Commission figures.
Some arrived early, while others wanted to get it over with quickly before more people started reaching the polling stations, they told reporters.
It is a holiday in Wayanad LS and Chelakkara assembly constituencies on account of the bypolls.
The Wayanad constituency comprises seven assembly segments of Mananthavady (ST), Sulthan Bathery (ST), and Kalpetta in Wayanad district; Thiruvambady in Kozhikode district; and Eranad, Nilambur, and Wandoor in Malappuram district.
A bypoll was necessitated in the hill constituency after Rahul Gandhi, who won the Wayanad LS seat in the general elections held earlier this year, vacated it after he also won from the Rae Bareli constituency.
There are 16 candidates in the fray for the seat with Congress-led UDF's candidate and Rahul's sister Priyanka, who is making her electoral debut, CPI(M)-led LDF's Sathyan Mokeri and BJP-led NDA's Navya Haridas being the top contenders.
Polling in Wayanad commenced amidst tight security arrangements which included deployment of over 2,500 security personnel and live monitoring of the by-election process by an extensive webcasting system.
Voting for the Chelakkara assembly seat in Thrissur district of the state also saw people turning up early at the 177 polling stations in the constituency.
There are six candidates in the fray for the assembly seat, where a bypoll was necessitated after LDF's K Radhakrishnan -- who won from there in 2021 -- was elected to the Lok Sabha from the Alathur constituency by defeating UDF's Ramya Haridas who had won from there in 2019.
Haridas is now contesting from the Chelakkara assembly seat and is pitted against LDF's U R Pradeep and NDA's K Balakrishnan.
There were close to two lakh voters in the constituency during the 2021 assembly election in the state.
Voting began in Wayanad and Chelakkara after a mock poll was carried out by casting votes in favour of all candidates, including NOTA, whose names are there on an EVM.
