The CBI will take over the investigation of the alleged sexual exploitation of minor girls in a shelter home at Deoria, Uttar Pradesh officials said. The probe comes a year after the Uttar Pradesh government had suggested a CBI probe into the case. Authorities had rescued 24 girls from a shelter home in Deoria last year. The shelter home had 42 inmates, from which medical examinations confirmed sexual abuse of 34 inmates.

FIR against two shelter officials 

The agency had registered FIRs against two officials of the shelter home - Director Girija Tripathi and Superintendent Kanchan Lata Tripathi of the Maa Vindhyavasini Mahila Evam Balika Sanrakshan Griha in Deoria. The FIRs have been lodged under wrongful confinement, sexual harassment, sexual abuse, and provisions under Protection of Children from Sexual Offences and Juvenile Justice Act. 

READ: CBI conducts special corruption checks at 150 locations across India

The incident came to light last year

The incident came to light last year, amid the outcry over the alleged sexual abuse of young girls at a state-funded shelter home in Bihar's Muzaffarpur. Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath announced that the investigation would be handed over to the CBI and a three-member SIT would investigate the matter last year. The CM had alleged that the shelter home received huge funds from the previous Governments and that the BJP government had, in fact, bought the incident into the light. Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath ordered the immediate removal of Deoria District Magistrate Sujit Kumar. 

READ: Chidambaram's CBI custody extended by 4 days in INX Media case

Girls were sent to the home even after the shelter was de-recognized

According to the SP, the shelter home was suspended in 2017, on the grounds of irregularities of funds, "But the manager was running the home and told us that the High Court has given a stay. When she was not able to show the court order, the administration sent a team to the shelter home to shift the girls but the manager did not cooperate," he said.

READ: Congress questions CBI's legality, here's why this query is wrong

(With PTI inputs)