The Supreme Court, on Monday, slammed Bihar police for its failure to arrest former state minister Manju Verma, in a case related to the recovery of ammunition from her home during a CBI raid in connection with the Muzaffarpur shelter home case.
"Fantastic! cabinet minister (Manju Verma) on the run, fantastic. How could it happen that the 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,” Justice Madan B Lokur said.
Verma, who is facing detention under Arms Act, moved to Begusarai court last Tuesday while pleading with it not to declare her an "absconder'.
Verma had to resign as the social welfare minister from the Nitish Kumar Cabinet in August after reports suggested "close links" between her husband Chandrashekhar Verma and prime accused Brajesh Thakur in the Muzaffarpur shelter home scandal.
She was subsequently booked in an Arms Act case, which was lodged after recovery of a huge cache of ammunition from her residence in Begusarai during a raid by the CBI sleuths.
Verma's counsel Satya Narayan Mahto moved the court of Additional Chief Judicial Magistrate Prabhat Trivedi soon after the police approached it to declare the former minister a "proclaimed offender" for evading the arrest.
A court declaring an accused a proclaimed offender entitles the police to paste a legal notice on the walls of the residence of accused, asking him or her to surrender before the court within a stipulated period, failing which the property of the accused is liable to be confiscated and auctioned.
The former minister's counsel submitted to the magisterial court that his client was not evading arrest but only following the due process of law to get a relief against arrest.
Mahto argued that the former minister was not an absconder but had approached the Supreme Court to seek bail in the case after the Patna High Court had turned down her anticipatory bail plea on October 9.
Over 30 girls and women were allegedly raped and sexually abused at the shelter home in Muzaffarpur and it had come to light that Chandrashekhar Verma had spoken to Thakur several times between January and June.
An FIR was lodged on May 31 against 11 people, including Brajesh Thakur, who was running the shelter home.
The probe into the case was later handed over to the CBI by the Bihar government.
An FIR was lodged against Manju Verma under Arms Act in August at Cheria Bariarpur police station of Begusarai district after the seizure of about 50 live cartridges from her residence.
On October 25, the apex court had asked the Bihar government and the CBI to explain why there was a delay in tracing whereabouts of Chandrashekhar Verma, who is wanted for alleged illegal possession of ammunition in large quantity.
Verma surrendered before the Begusarai court on October 29.
(With Inputs from ANI and PTI)