The Patna High Court on Friday directed that a woman police officer of the rank of deputy superintendent of police should carry out investigation in the Patna shelter home case in which at least two former inmates have alleged sexual exploitation and torture at the facility located at Gaighat in Bihar’s capital.

The HC has asked the Bihar State Legal Services Authority to make available any assistance required by the alleged victims, their counsel Meenu Kumari said.

The court will hear the matter next on February 25.

Bihar’s advocate general Lalit Kishore told the court that two separate FIRs (first information report) had been filed with the women police station by the two former inmates but contended that their complaints raised doubts about their motive.

“The alleged victims left the shelter home in August 2021 but levelled allegations for the first time only in January 2022,” he told the court.

The case is being heard by the division bench of chief justice Sanjay Karol and justice S Kumar.

The HC had taken suo motu cognisance of the case on the recommendation of its juvenile justice monitoring committee.

On February 2, the court had said, “No FIR has been registered on such a disclosure by the victim. Even more surprising is that the director of the social welfare department conducted an inquiry and, only on the basis of the CCTV footage installed at the shelter home, came to the conclusion that the accusation made by the so-called victim is baseless and false. It does not appear that any inquiry was made with the victim girl and such opinion has been arrived at only by seeing the footage of CCTV camera,” the order mentioned.