November 15, 2018:
On Thursday, Janata Dal (United) Party leader & former Bihar minister Manju Verma was suspended from the party for her alleged involvement in the Muzaffarpur shelter home sexual abuse case.
Verma resigned as social welfare minister in the Bihar government following the Muzaffarpur case, in which several women inmates of a shelter home were allegedly raped and sexually abused, after it came to light that her husband Chandrashekhar Verma had spoken to Brajesh Thakur, the prime accused, several times.
Bihar police have raided several locations across the state today in an effort to arrest Verma, who has been absconding.
Police had previously recovered a large quantity of arms & ammunition from her residence during raids conducted in connection with the sexual abuse case.
On Monday, the Supreme Court expressed shock over the state police’s failure to arrest the former cabinet minister & ordered the state Directorate General of Police (DGP) to appear in the person before it on November 27.
Justice Madan B Lokur said,“Fantastic! The Cabinet minister (Manju Verma) is on the run, fantastic. How could it happen that the Cabinet minister is absconding and nobody knows where she is. Do you realise the seriousness of the issue that the Cabinet minister is not traceable? It’s too much."
Apex Court had also expressed concern over the “mismanagement” of shelter homes in the state.
Court, last month, had slammed the police for not arresting Verma and wondered whether she was above the law because she was a cabinet minister. Verma’s anticipatory bail plea was dismissed by the Patna High Court on October 9.
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