The man at the centre of the Bihar house of horrors -- a children's shelter in Muzaffarpur where more than 30 girls were tortured and raped over a period of four years -- was seen with a wide grin while being led away by the police over the weekend. Brajesh Thakur, the 55-year-old politically connected owner of the shelter home in Bihar, was arrested on Saturday.
Brajesh Thakur and nine others are accused in a police charge-sheet that details a network of police, politicians, administration and criminals behind the sexual assault of girls, the youngest a seven-year-old speech-impaired child.
Nightmarish stories of drugging, beatings and even allegations of murder have emerged from the shelter home after the scandal was uncovered by the Tata Institute of Social Sciences in a research paper earlier this month.
Brajesh Thakur was responsible for much of the depravity, the girls have alleged. The others involved included the home's caretaker, "Kiran Aunty", who often sexually abused the girls. The On Tuesday, the police said 11 women have disappeared from another shelter home run by Brajesh Thakur.
Locals say Brajesh Thakur, who ran a local daily, "Pratah Kamal", was known in Patna's corridors of power. He ran several non-profits and was a member of several state-level media committees, including the press accreditation, Press Information Bureau and the Bihar assembly press committee. Many have accused him of bribing his way to profit and privileges.
Old-timers say in the 1990s, his father was arrested by the CBI in connection with selling newsprint quota.
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