HC rejects ex-Bihar Minister Manju Verma's bail

Patna: The Patna High Court on Tuesday rejected an anticipatory bail plea by former Bihar Minister Manju Verma in an Arms Act case brought against her by the CBI which is probing the Muzaffarpur shelter home horror.

The Central Bureau of Investigation has registered a First Information Report (FIR) against the former Social Welfare Minister. She may be arrested soon.

The court had last week reserved its order after the hearing was completed.

The CBI had seized 50 live cartridges from the former Minister's Begusarai home and filed the FIR against Verma and her husband Chandeshwar Verma.

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

Arrested on June 2, Thakur is lodged 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 Sciences, Mumbai.

The shelter home has since been sealed.