The Central Bureau of Investigation is excavating a grave site in Bihar’s Sikandarpur as part of its investigation into the alleged rape of at least 34 girls at a shelter home in Muzaffarpur, reports said on Wednesday. Personnel from the agency used an excavator to unearth some human remains at the burial ground and will send samples for forensic testing to verify if the deceased were minor girls from the shelter.

Unidentified officials told PTI that some inmates of the government-funded shelter alleged that a few girls at the home were killed and buried after being raped.

The agency conducted the excavation after interrogating an aide of the prime accused, Brajesh Thakur, who ran the NGO Seva Sankalp Ewam Vikas Samiti, the Hindustan Times reported. “The bones have been sent for DNA sampling,” an unidentified official said. “Only after the DNA report, we will be able to confirm if the deceased was the same girl who was allegedly killed at the short stay home.”

On September 22, the agency took four persons into custody, including Rosy Rani, who was earlier in charge of the inspection of shelters as the assistant director of the state’s social welfare department. She was in the position between 2015 and 2017, and was accused of not taking any action despite being informed about the alleged abuse.

The case

The alleged sexual exploitation of children in the shelter in Muzaffarpur came to light after Mumbai’s Tata Institute of Social Sciences submitted an audit report of 110 shelter homes in Bihar in April. The audit had been ordered by the state government, which filed a first information report against 11 people, including Thakur, on May 31. A medical report confirmed the sexual assault of 34 inmates.

In September, the Supreme Court reversed a gag order imposed by the Patna High Court that restrained media houses from reporting on the investigation. The top court urged publications to refrain from sensationalising the case.