India: 19 men convicted of sexual exploitation at poor girls' shelter

In the Bihar state of India, 19 of the 20 accused named in physical and sexual abuse cases at a shelter for poor girls were declared guilty by the court on January 28.

According to a report by the British Broadcasting Agency BBC, reports of sexual abuse and violence against girls were revealed in 2018 in a shelter set up for poor girls in the city of Muzaffarpur in Bihar and the court has now decided the case.

The court ruled that 19 people have been convicted and sentenced on January 28.

According to the report, the owner of the shelter, Brijesh Thakur, is among the culprits as the case came to light in 2018.

There were more than 40 girls living in the shelter, with reports that most girls were being subjected to violence and sexual abuse.

The police had named 20 accused, but the court acquitted one of them.

Refugee owner Brajesh Thakur was declared the main accused by the police and accused him of negligence in his duties and rape.

It is to be remembered that the case of raping poor girls in Bihar came out in 2018 after a report submitted by the Tata Institute of Social Sciences to the Bihar government in which details were given.

Eight researchers from the Mumbai-based institute visited 110 shelters in 28 different districts, out of which 71 were exposed to child abuse.