Bihar shelter homes case: CBI raids Manju Verma's residences in Patna, Begusarai

Patna, Aug 17: The CBI on Friday raided former Bihar Social Welfare Minister Manju Verma's residences in Patna and Begusarai in connection with its ongoing probe into the Muzaffarpur shelter home case.

Manju Verma

Manju Verma on August 8 handed over her resignation to Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar amid uproar over sex scandal case in the Muzaffarpur shelter home.

Manju Verma has been is in the eye of a storm after the name of her husband cropped up in connection with the shelter home case.

Brajesh Thakur

Brajesh Thakur, the prime accused in the Muzaffarpur shelter home case, had earlier alleged that he was being framed in the case.

Thakur had earlier said, "I was in touch with Manju Verma's husband but it was for political reasons. None of the girls from my shelter home have levelled any accusation against me."

The Bihar government has cancelled the registration of Brajesh Thakur's NGO, which ran the infamous shelter home in Muzaffarpur where 34 girls were allegedly raped over a period of time. The sale of the NGO's assets was banned and the bank accounts were frozen, an official said in Muzaffarpur on Friday.

The Muzaffarpur shelter home

Sexual exploitation of girls at the shelter home first came to light in the report of a socia audit conducted by Tata Institute of Social Sciences, Mumbai, which was submitted to the state social welfare department in April. The FIR in the case was registered on May 31 against 11 people, including Thakur. On July 26, the Bihar government recommended a CBI inquiry in the matter.

Bihar Deputy CM Sushil Modi

Earlier, Bihar deputy chief minister Sushil Kumar Modi had defended Manju Verma, saying there is neither any evidence of her involvement in the Muzaffarpur shelter home sex scandal nor had she protected any of the people accused of wrongdoing.