ED attaches Brajesh Thakur’s assets in Muzaffarpur

MUZAFFARPUR: The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Tuesday confiscated 12 immovable properties worth 15 crore of the Muzaffarpur shelter home sex scandal kingpin and mastermind, Brajesh Thakur.
According to sources, a six-member ED team from Patna comprising Mushari circle officer Nagendra Kumar reached Mithanpura locality in Muzaffarpur where the infamous shelter home-run by an NGO ‘Sewa Sankalp Evam Vikas Samiti’- is located and pasted a notice declaring property seizure.
The team also visited the RM Palace Hotel located on Sahu Road and put up a notice of attachment. The team also attached the buildings of ‘Swadhar Grih’ at Bharat Mata Lane and pasted notice on it. Two other properties at Jawaharlal Road and Ram Bag under Town and Mithanpura police stations areas respectively have also been taken into possession. The ED team also visited Thakur’s ancestral village Panchdahi under Sakra police station area on Wednesday and also attached his landed properties at Musahari and Kurhani.
It may be mentioned here that the ED had initiated a parallel probe into the illegal wealth amassed by Brajesh Thakur and his family since the investigation began in the shelter home sex scandal case. After the ED made a rough estimate of Thakur’s properties, an order was passed on September 3 for provisional attachment.
The ED had also summoned Thakur’s wife Kumari Asha and his son Rahul Anand in December 2018 for recording their statements in alleged money laundering act violations.
On March 13 this year, Thakur’s properties, including 26 plots of land, three vehicles, balance in 37 bank accounts and investments in mutual funds and insurance policies worth Rs 7.3 crore, all owned by Brajesh and his family were attached. According to the ED, Brajesh was the defacto owner of the shelter home. The investigation under PMLA was initiated on the basis of chargesheets filed by the CBI and the woman police station in Muzaffarpur.
The government-funded shelter home for destitute girls on Sahu Road in Muzaffarpur town area was a horror house. Of the 42 girls housed there, medical examination had confirmed sexual assault on 34.