Patna: The Muzaffarpur district administration has banned individuals from purchasing assets belonging to Brajesh Thakur - the arrested proprietor of the NGO that ran the Balika Grih where at least 34 minor girls were raped - and his family.
Authoritative sources said the move came because Brajesh's son Rahul Anand sold a plot of land at Adampur Chhapra in Muzaffarpur town after an FIR was lodged against Brajesh's NGO, Seva Sansthan Evam Vikas Samiti, on July 31 this year.
Muzaffarpur district magistrate Mohammad Sohail sent to the local sub-registry office a copy of the order banning sale and purchase of property belonging to Brajesh and family.
Sources said Rahul sold the 11 cottah plot to 10 different persons for Rs 27.97 lakh but the land's market rate is not less than Rs 15 lakh per cottah.
Sources said that Brajesh, currently lodged in the Shaheed Khudiram Bose Central Jail hospital for complaints of diabetes, hypertension and slipped disc, had also bought property in Delhi and Patna.
So far, the district police have detected assets worth Rs 50 crore belonging to Brajesh. The 14 bank accounts of Brajesh's NGO have already been frozen and the district administration has initiated the process of attachment of property, the sources said.
"Brajesh's NGOs were registered in the name of his family members or fake identities. He received government funds worth crores through his NGOs and three newspapers. His newspaper circulation figures were inflated to get advertisements to the tune of Rs 20-30 lakh per annum," said a source.
The internal audit of Brajesh's NGO showed that it used to receive government funds to the tune of Rs 47 lakh per year.
The district police are investigating the disappearance of 11 women from another shelter home, Swadhar Grih, owned by Brajesh. One of the women was on Wednesday arrested from Purani Bazar locality of Muzaffarpur. She was produced in court and remanded to judicial custody for 14 days.
"Her statement, recorded in the local court, shows that the residents were forced to live in hellish conditions at the Swadhar Grih, sexually abused and tortured to such an extent that a few of them were suffering from psychiatric problems," said an officer.
CBI deputy inspector-general Abhay Kumar on Friday reviewed the progress in the investigation. Sources said that additional officers have been roped in to step up the investigation. CBI superintendent of police J.P. Mishra is heading the probe into the Balika Grih rape cases.
