Police attach absconding Bihar ex-minister’s properties

Patna: Police in Bihar on Saturday began attaching properties owned by absconding former minister Manju Verma after a court order in an arms case connected to the Muzaffarpur shelter home abuse scandal.

“A property attachment notice was pasted on her residence and the police began the process,” Begusarai Superintendent of Police Avkash Kumar said.

Verma is facing arrest under the Arms Act following the recovery of 50 live cartridges from her residences in Patna and Begusarai during a Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) raid.

She has been absconding for the last three months. The Patna High Court has rejected her bail plea.

Last month a court in Begusarai had issued a warrant of arrest against her.

On Monday the minister’s husband Chandrasekhar Verma, who had been absconding for a month, surrendered before a court.

He was then remanded to 14 days in judicial custody in connection to the shelter home case.

Manju Verma resigned on August 8 following allegations that Brajesh Thakur, the main accused in the Muzaffarpur case, had links to her husband.

Thankur is currently being held in the Muzaffarpur jail.

Of the 42 girls lodged at the short-stay home run by Thakur’s NGO, 34 were found to have been sexually assaulted. The crime came to light after a social audit by the Tata Institute of Social Science, Mumbai.

The shelter home has been sealed.