Muzaffarpur Shelter home case: Ex-Bihar minister Manju Verma missing, state government tells Supreme Court

The Bihar government on Wednesday informed the Supreme Court about former state minister Manju Verma had gone missing. The Supreme Court on Tuesday slammed Bihar government over not arresting Manju Verma after the CBI found over 50 live cartridges during a raid on premises linked to her in Begusarai.

Expressing its displeasure on Bihar government not arresting former Bihar Minister Manju Verma, Supreme Court said "all is not well in Bihar. The former minister goes in hiding & Govt does not know and has failed to arrest her after her bail plea rejection."

"It's very strange. The government doesn't know where its former minister is. Has she gone into hiding?" said the apex court after the Bihar government admitted that the minister wasn't traceable.

On Tuesday, Supreme Court asked Bihar government why it had not yet arrest Manju Verma. The top court said “Just because Manju Verma happens to be cabinet minister of Bihar government, it doesn’t make her above the law. The whole thing is highly suspicious. Why has she not been arrested? It’s too much. Nobody is bothered about the law."

Manju Verma stepped down as Social Welfare Minister in the Nitish Kumar government after several girls at the state-run shelter home in Muzaffarpur were raped and sexually abused allegedly by the man, Brajesh Thakur, who ran the facility. Brajesh Thakur is the main accused in the Muzaffarpur shelter home case.

Manju Verma's husband Chandrashekhar Verma had spoken to Brajesh Thakur several times between January and June.

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