SC wants Bihar ex- minister’s ammo probed

Muzaffarpur case facts very disturbing, says apex court

New Delhi, Sept. 20: The Supreme Court on Thursday termed as “very disturbing” the facts emerging from the CBI’s probe into the Muzzafarpur shelter home abuse case and asked the Bihar police to probe the alleged recovery of large quantity of ammunition from former minister Manju Verma and her husband. “The affairs of these two need to be looked into, particularly with regard to their possession of illegal ammunition,” the court said.

New Delhi, Sept. 20: The Supreme Court on Thursday termed as “very disturbing” the facts emerging from CBI’s probe into the Muzzafarpur shelter home sexual abuse case and asked the Bihar Police to probe the alleged recovery of large quantity of ammunition from former state minister Manju Verma and her husband.

Manju Verma had resigned as the Social Welfare Minister in the Bihar government following the Muzzafarpur case where several women were raped and sexually abused, after it came to light that her husband Chandrashekhar Verma had spoken to prime accused Brajesh Thakur several times between January and June this year.

The apex court, which observed that CBI’s probe in the case seemed to be on track, said it was not clear whether illegal arms were also recovered from the possession of the Vermas and the matter needed to be looked into by the local police.

Taking note of the facts emerging from the two status reports filed by the CBI, a bench of Justices Madan B. Lokur and Deepak Gupta said that Thakur appeared to be a “very influential” man, as his neighbours were scared to file any complaint against him despite the fact that they had heard screams of girls from the shelter home.

The bench said “it has also come on record that one Chandrashekhar Verma and his wife Manju Verma have been in possession of illegal ammunition of a fairly large quantity. It is not clear whether they were in possession of illegal arms as well. The status report mentions that an FIR has been lodged against Chandrashekhar Verma and Manju Verma.”

“The affairs of these two need to be looked into, particularly with regard to their procurement and possession of illegal ammunition and availability of illegal weapons, if any. We request the local police in the state of Bihar to look into this aspect with some degree of seriousness,” it said.

The bench took note of the fact that the state’s social welfare department had shifted some girls from the shelter home run by Brajesh Thakur in March this year, but the purpose of shifting was not clear.

Manju Verma had resigned as the social welfare minister in the Bihar government following the Muzzafarpur case where several women were raped