Absconding former Bihar minister Manju Verma surrenders in Begusarai court

Absconding former Bihar minister Manju Verma surrendered in a Begusarai court on Tuesday. Manju Verma is wanted in an Arms Act case which came to light during an investigation into the Muzaffarpur shelter home rape-murder case. Her surrender comes more than a week after the Supreme Court pulled up Bihar Police for its failure to arrest her in the Arms Act case.

Expressing shock over Bihar Police's inability to find and arrest her, the apex court had summoned the Director General of Bihar Police to appear before it on November 27 if the police failed to apprehend her by then.

“Fantastic! cabinet minister (Manju Verma) on the run, fantastic. How could it happen that cabinet minister is absconding and nobody knows where she is? You realise the seriousness of the issue that cabinet minister is not traceable. It’s too much,” the court had observed. “We are quite shocked that former cabinet minister cannot be traced by the police for over a month. We would like the police to tell us that how such an important person is not traceable. Director General of Police to appear before us,” said the court. 

Bihar Police on Saturday attached her Begusarai residence after she went missing following the investigation. Additional Chief Judicial Magistrate of Manjhaul had on November 16, 2018 proclaimed Manju Verma an 'absconder' and ordered for attaching her properties. The court had passed the order invoking sections 82 and 83 of Indian Penal Code of Criminal Procedure.

The court had also turned down an application filed by her counsel, wherein she (Manju Verma) had pleaded that she was not evading arrest, but 'seeking relief as per law' and hence, she may not be proclaimed an absconder.

Manju Verma and her husband Chandrashekhar Verma were booked under the Arms Act at Cheria Bariyarpur police station in Begusarai following the recovery of a huge cache of arms ammunition from their residence. The recovery of the arms and ammunition was made during a raid at her residence by a Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) team probing the alleged Muzaffarpur shelter home rape-murder and sexual abuse case involving over 30 minor girls.

She was forced to resign as the minister for social welfare from the Nitish Kumar government following reports that her husband had close links with Brajesh Thakur, prime accused in the Muzaffarpur case. Verma's husband had surrendered before a court on October 29.

The former minister was recently suspended by the Janata Dal United (JDU) from the primary membership of the party.