A Delhi court on Monday convicted 19 accused, including prime accused Brajesh Thakur in the Muzaffarpur Shelter home. The court however, acquitted one accused.
The court listed the matter for arguments on quantum of sentence on January 28.
Brajesh Thakur, Shaista Praveen, Rama Shankar, Ravi Roshan, Dilip Verma, Vikash Kumar, Indu Kumari, Meenu Devi, Manju Devi, Chanda Devi, Neha Kumari, Hema Masih, Kiran Kumari, Vijay Kumar Tiwari, Guddu Patel, Kishan Ram, Dr Ashwini, Ramanuj Thakur and Rozy Rani have been convicted while Vickey has been acquitted.
The court held Thakur guilty of rape, gang-rape and aggravated sexual assault under various provisions of the POCSO Act.
Earlier, the court on Sep 30 had reserved its judgment after finishing arguments in the case. The CBI had charge-sheeted the accused under Section 120 B, 376, 34 IPC, 4/6/8/10/12 POCSO act along with other sections.
The trial in the case was shifted on Feb 7 from a local court in Muzaffarpur in Bihar to a special POCSO court at Saket district court complex in Delhi on the apex court’s directions. The case came into the light after an audit by Tata Institute of Social Sciences (TISS) found that minor girls were sexually assaulted in the shelter home ran by Thakur’s NGO.
—India Legal Bureau