The Muzaffarpur women’s shelter case serves as inspiration for Netflix’s ‘Bhakshak’. Here is the story.
On January 31, the trailer for ‘Bhakshak,’ a movie centered around the Muzaffarpur women’s shelter case, was unveiled. The film is scheduled for a direct premiere on Netflix on February 9.
On January 31, the trailer for ‘Bhakshak’ was launched. Directed by Pulkit and featuring Bhumi Pednekar, Aditya Srivastava, and Sanjay Mishra in key roles, the film is inspired by the Muzaffarpur Women’s Shelter Case. In this case, Brajesh Thakur and 11 others received life imprisonment for the physical and sexual assault of numerous minor girls.
‘Bhakshak,’ starring Bhumi Pednekar and Aditya Srivastava in prominent roles, draws inspiration from the Muzaffarpur Women’s Shelter Case of 2020. Aditya Srivastava takes on the role of Bansi Sahu, a character inspired by Brajesh Thakur, the mastermind behind the actual case.
The case gained attention when the Tata Institute of Social Sciences (TISS) submitted a report to the Bihar government on May 26, 2018, highlighting the purported sexual abuse of minor girls in the shelter home for the first time.
On May 29, 2018, the Bihar government relocated the girls from the shelter home to alternative protective facilities. Subsequently, on May 31, 2018, an FIR was lodged against the 11 accused in the case.
Acknowledging the alleged sexual assaults on around 30 minor girls in Muzaffarpur’s shelter home, the Supreme Court intervened on August 2, 2018, and transferred the investigation to the CBI on November 28.
In 2020, a Delhi court pronounced the conviction of 19 individuals, including the primary accused, Brajesh Thakur, in connection with the sexual and physical assault of girls at a shelter home in Bihar’s Muzaffarpur district. Additional Sessions Judge Saurabh Kulshreshtha found Thakur guilty of aggravated sexual assault under the POCSO Act and gang rape. One of the accused in the case was acquitted.
Brajesh Thakur, the former Bihar People’s Party (BPP) MLA who operated the shelter where multiple girls experienced rape and assault, was convicted for aggravated sexual assault under the POCSO Act and gang rape.
In 2023, the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) launched a new FIR against unidentified officials of Balika Greh, the shelter home in Bihar’s Muzaffarpur. This pertains to the case of a missing girl who was falsely documented as reunited with her parents in 2015 based on forged documents.
As per the FIR obtained by India Today, it states, “During further investigation of that case, it was revealed that one minor girl…who was physically and mentally disabled and was reportedly restored on November 10 to her father…in compliance of the order dated November 10, 2015, purportedly passed by the Child Welfare Committee, Sitamarhi.”
Brajesh Thakur, the founder of the Seva Sankalp Evam Vikas Samiti NGO that operated the shelter home in Bihar’s Muzaffarpur, is currently serving a life sentence following his conviction by a Delhi court in 2020.
ABOUT ‘BHAKSHAK’
In ‘Bhakshak,’ Bhumi Pednekar takes on the role of an investigative journalist who unveils a series of sexual assaults at a child shelter home. Directed by Pulkit, the film showcases a stellar cast, including Sanjay Mishra, Aditya Srivastava, and Sai Tamhankar in pivotal roles. The film is scheduled for a direct premiere on Netflix on February 9.
