Supreme Court pulls up Bihar police: “Fantastic, ex-minister not traceable”

Supreme Court has asked the two top most officials of Bihar to appear in the court and explain why the former minister Manju Verma linked to the probe has not been traced.

"Fantastic... ex-cabinet minister is not traceable You (Bihar government) will have to explain...How is it that no one knows where the ex Minister is?," said the top court.

The apex court has fixed November 27 as the next date for hearing.

On November 1, 2018, the Bihar police had issued a non-bailable warrant against ex-social welfare minister minister Manju Verma after the SC came down heavily on the state government.

Earlier on October 30, The Supreme Court had expressed its displeasure over the police not arresting another accused and former Bihar Minister Manju Verma. She was a Minister in Chief Minister Nitish Kumar-led government.

"Her bail was rejected on October 9. Why have you not arrested her...because she was a Cabinet Minister? Nobody could trace her. Why was she not arrested?" Justice Lokur had asked, brushing aside all explanations by senior counsel Ranjit Kumar appearing for the state.

Pointing to the depravity of the crime where 34 of the 41 minors housed in a short-stay home were confirmed to have been raped, Justice Lokur had said: "These girls were injected with drugs and a person is allowed to construct a four-storeyed building without windows!"

Describing what all has happened as "indefensible", senior counsel Kumar had said the authorities are looking into how the building was constructed, who sanctioned the plan and why it should not be demolished.

The court had also questioned the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) over changing the team investigating the case despite its orders.

Telling the CBI officer present in the court that it had issued the September 20 order on keeping intact the investigating team, the court directed that the names of the officers who were there in the investigating team and that of those who are at present in the team be placed before it on Wednesday morning.

with IANS inputs.