Muzaffarpur Shelter Home Rape Case: FIR against ex-Bihar minister Manju Verma, husband under Arms Act

The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has registered Bihar’s former social welfare minister Manju Verma and her husband under Arms Act following the recovery of 50 live cartridges from her house during a raid in connection with the Muzaffarpur shelter home rape case.

“An FIR was registered against Verma, a JDU leader and her husband Chandrashekhar after the recovery of live cartridges from her house in Arjun Tola village during the CBI raid,” PTI quoted Cheria Bariarpur police station SHO Ranjit Kumar Rajak as saying.

Earlier on Friday, the CBI, investigating the Muzaffarpur shelter home rape case, had conducted raids at nearly a dozen places in four districts of Bihar, the former minister’s residences in Patna and Begusarai.

Read More | Muzaffarpur Shelter Home Case: CBI raids Manju Verma's residence

Verma’s husband Chandrashekhar is accused of having close ties with Brajesh Thakur – the key accused in Muzaffarpur shelter home rape case. Opposition RJD had even claimed that he used to visit the shelter home frequently.

Verma was forced to resign as social welfare minister in Nitish Kumar’s cabinet after agencies disclosed that her husband had spoken to Thakur 17 times between January and June 2018.

At least 34 girls, as young as seven, were raped for several years in the government-run shelter home in Muzaffarpur. The girls were forced to sleep naked, raped and scalded with boiling water if they opposed. The shelter home was owned by Thakur, a well-known name in Patna’s power corridors.

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The incident of the mass rape had surfaced two months ago FIR was lodged by the social welfare department following a social audit report submitted by Mumbai-based Tata Institute of Social Sciences which mentioned sexual abuse of girls lodged in the shelter home.