Bihar Shelter Home Case: RJD to stage protest at Jantar Mantar today; Rahul Gandhi confirms participation

Former Bihar deputy chief minister and Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) leader Tejaswi Yadav on Saturday will stage a protest at the historic Jantar Mantar in New Delhi over the rape of 34 girls in a government-run shelter home in Muzaffarpur city.

Leaders of several other opposition parties, including Congress president Rahul Gandhi will also take part in the protest, seeking Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar resignation, who allegedly has a close connection with the case.

There are also reports that Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal will join the Congress-RJD protest at the Jantar Mantar on Saturday.

Lanunching a scathing attack at the Nitish Kumar government, Tejaswi further took to Twitter and said, "Against heinous institutional mass rape in Muzaffarpur... sponsored and protected by Nitish Kumar government, we will stage a dharna on Saturday".

Read | Bihar shelter home rape case: Nitish Kumar breaks silence, promises ‘strict’ action against guilty

Earlier in the day Kumar broke his prolonged silence over the heinous crime in Muzaffarpur city and promised strict and uncompromising action against people found guilty.

Kumar's statement came days after Bihar Governor Satyapal Malik dashed two letters, asking him to assure strict action against the culprits.

"Indirectly the Governor has questioned Chief Minister's criminal silence...I will awake Nitish Kumar's inner voice and expose his fake morality," Tejashwi, the younger son of RJD supremo Lalu Prasad Yadav said.

On Thursday, the Supreme Court took a suo moto cognizance of the case and issued separate notices to the Centre and Kumar-led state government. The apex court sought a detailed reply from the NDA governments in the Centre and the state.

Read | Victory over death! Three-year-old girl fell into borewell shaft rescued successfully

In July, as many as 34 girls, aged among seven to 14 years, were drugged, scalded with boiling water, raped and forced to sleep naked in a government-run shelter home in Bihar’s Muzaffarpur. One of the minors was mercilessly beaten to death following a disagreement with some of the staff members from the stay home.

The CBI is currently investigating the case, which relates to mental, physical and sexual exploitation of the girls residing at the Balika Grih of Bihar's Muzaffarpur.