The Supreme Court on Monday dismissed a petition claiming that Brajesh Thakur, the main accused in the Muzaffarpur shelter home rape case, was tortured in the Patiala jail in Punjab, ANI reported. The court rejected the plea after a medical panel it had set up found no injuries or signs of torture.

Thakur used to run a shelter home in Muzaffarpur district of Bihar where at least 34 inmates were allegedly raped. He was transferred from Bihar’s Badarpur jail to Patiala jail after a Supreme Court order on October 30, following the prosecution’s claim that he might interfere with the trial and witnesses.

Thakur’s children had filed the application, claiming he was being physically and mentally harassed in jail. Thakur had accused the jail superintendent of torturing him in an attempt to extort money, ANI reported.

The court also rejected his petition that sought a stay on the demolition of the shelter home building, ANI reported. On November 10, the Muzaffarpur Municipal Corporation had ordered the demolition of the building citing violations in the structure’s construction, reports had said.

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

Former state minister Manju Verma had surrendered in a court in Begusarai in November, after her resignation in August in the wake of allegations that her husband Chandrashekhar Verma had links with Thakur.