Muzaffarpur rapes: Bihar government tells SC that police could not trace former minister Manju Verma
The top court directed the Central Bureau of Investigation to file a chargesheet on time so the accused could not be granted bail.
The Bihar government on Wednesday told the Supreme Court that the police had failed to trace former social welfare minister Manju Verma, who is under investigation in connection with the recovery of ammunition from her house, reported Hindustan Times.
“It’s very strange that the government doesn’t know where its former minister is. All is not well,” the top court said. The Supreme Court then directed the Central Bureau of Investigation to file a chargesheet on time so that no accused could be granted bail, reported News 18.
Verma resigned in August after allegations of her husband’s links with Brajesh Thakur, the main accused in the Muzaffarpur shelter home rape case.
On Tuesday, the Supreme Court asked the Bihar Police why Verma had not yet been arrested over the recovery of ammunition from a house owned by her husband. Fifty cartridges were found in the house during a search conducted in connection with the shelter home rapes. The Bihar Police filed a First Information Report under the Arms Act against Verma and her husband after the cartridges were found.
Verma’s husband, Chandrashekhar Verma, allegedly has links with Thakur, who used to run the shelter home. The wife of an accused in the rape case has alleged that he was a regular visitor at the shelter. Chandrashekhar Verma surrendered before a court in Begusarai on Monday.
The top court also ordered the transfer of Thakur to a high-security jail in Punjab’s Patiala district. He was in Bihar’s Badarpur jail.
The alleged sexual exploitation of children at the shelter run by Thakur 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 at the Muzaffarnagar home.