Medical team denies 3 inmates of Ara Remand Home were sodomised

Kumar Rajiv Nayan

Ara : The medical team, constituted by Civil Surgeon Dr Jagdish Prasad on the direction of Bhojpur DM to inquire into the charge of three inmates of Ara Remand Home that they were sodomised on August 1, 2018, by 7 other inmates, rejected any act of sodomy against them on August 4. Dr Satish Kumar Sinha, who headed the medical team, denied any act of sodomy and said that no injury mark was found on their private parts.

Dr Sinha, however, said that the swab has been preserved and being sent to the Forensic Science Laboratory. (FSL), Patna. Dr Sinha said that the FSL report will confirm whether the three inmates of Ara Remand Home were sodomised or not.

Two child prisoners from Kaimur district and one from Bhojpur district were brought over to the only Remand Home in the erstwhile Shahabad district that included Bhojpur, Buxar, Rohtas and Kaimur districts, located in Dharahara locality under Ara Town police station on Ara-Patna main road on July 31, 2018. On August 1, 2018, morning, seven inmates of Ara Remand Home took the three new entrants inside the washroom and allegedly sodomised them one by one. They also threatened them with dire consequences if they dared say anything to anyone about it and also thrashed them.

The matter came to light when the parents of two of the victims came for their release after they were granted bail by the court and the two narrated their ordeals tbefore their parents. They also tnformed the mediapersons about the incident at Ara Sadar Hospital. 

A named FIR was lodged with Ara Town police station against seven inmates of Ara Remand Home from Bhojpur and Rohtas districts on the statement of the Superintendent, Ara Remand Home, Rajiv Ranjan Grain, in connection with incident. Police produced two victims before the court on August 3 to get their statement recorded under section 164 CrPC in which they revealed that some inmates of Remand Home had sodomised them. 

SDO, Ara, Arun Prakash conducted raid at Ara Remand Home on August 3 evening and seized eight mobiles, eight chargers, eight headphones and a power bank.

Bhojpur DM Sanjeev Kumar and SP Awakash Kumar too visited Ara Remand Home and had a talk with the inmates separately. They found that several inmates are above 18 years of age, have criminal mentality, and beat other inmates. They stressed on shifting such inmates to Shekhpura and other district jails. The DM directed the SDO, Ara, to inspect Ara Remand Home twice daily. The DM has written to the Chief Magistrate, Juvenile Court, of Bhojpur, Buxar, Rohtas and Kaimur, recommending for shifting of such inmates. The DM also denied any act of sodomy inside Remand Home.