Muzaffarpur Shelter Home: Additional Sessions Judge Saurabh Kulshreshtha also sent 11 others to jail for life in the case. (Photo Credit: File Photo)
New Delhi:
A Delhi court on Tuesday sentenced Brajesh Thakur to imprisonment till his last breath for sexually assaulting several girls in a shelter home in Bihar's Muzaffarpur district, saying he was the "kingpin" of a "meticulously planned" conspiracy and "displayed extreme perversity". Additional Sessions Judge Saurabh Kulshreshtha also sent 11 others to jail for life in the case. The court sentenced Thakur to "rigorous imprisonment till remainder of his life" and imposed a hefty fine of Rs 32.20 lakh on him.
Brajesh Thakur, employees of the shelter home, and the officials of the Bihar department of social welfare were charged with criminal conspiracy, neglect of duty and failure to report the assault on the girls. The charges also included offence of cruelty to child under their authority, punishable under the Juvenile Justice Act. All the accused, who appeared before the court, pleaded innocence and claimed trial. The offences entailed a maximum punishment of life imprisonment.
In view of rising sexual crimes against children, such offenders should be dealt with an iron hand in order to send a strong message in the society so as to deter others from committing such ghastly crimes, the court said.
“It is writ large that this is not a case of a single solitary incident of rape, but a meticulously planned and ingeniously executed conspiracy wherein the care-givers, the supervisors and the administrators in a state sponsored children’s home themselves turned into predators, perpetrators of crime and abettors and repeatedly subjected numerous minor girls to atrocious acts of rape and aggravated penetrative sexual assault over an extremely long period of time spanning about four years” it said.
The court further noted that Thakur was not a young boy charged with a solitary offence but a mature and experienced politician charged with a plethora of crimes and he was the kingpin of the entire conspiracy.
“Further a person who is the owner of or who in fact manages or exercises control over the affairs of such a child care institution is expected to display compassion, sobriety and righteousness, but the convict not only betrayed the trust and faith of the victim girls but also displayed extreme perversity and monstrosity by committing such abhorrent acts with numerous helpless minor girls and therefore it is not a fit case for adopting the reformative and therapeutic approach,” it said.
