"Fantastic. Ex-minister not traceable": Supreme Court pulls up Bihar police

New Delhi, Nov 11: The Supreme Court on Monday rapped the two top most officials of Bihar asking why a former minister linked to the probe has not been traced. The top court also summoned the Director General of Bihar Police to appear before it on November 27 if the police failed to arrest the former minister 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," observed Justice Madan B Lokur.

"We are quite shocked that former cabinet minister can not 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.

On November 1, the Bihar police had issued a non-bailable warrant against ex-minister Manju Verma after the pulled up the Bihar government and said, "It's very strange. The government doesn't know where its former minister is. Has she gone into hiding?" The government counsel admitted in court that the minister wasn't traceable.

Verma resigned as the Social Welfare Minister of Bihar in August after her husband came under fire for allegedly having links with Brajesh Thakur, the prime accused in the Muzaffarpur shelter home rape case.

The shelter home rape case pertains to the alleged sexual harassment of 44 girls residing at the state-run shelter home.