Bihar Minister Manju Verma resigns, says 'husband innocent, have faith in judiciary, CBI'

Amid uproar over in the Muzaffarpur shelter home rapes case, Bihar Social Welfare Minister Manju Verma has resigned on Wednesday.

Amid uproar over in the Muzaffarpur shelter home rapes case, Bihar Social Welfare Minister Manju Verma has resigned on Wednesday. Photo: ANI

PATNA: Amid uproar over in the Muzaffarpur shelter home rapes case, Bihar Social Welfare Minister Manju Verma has resigned on Wednesday. Verma reportedly met Chief Minister Nitish Kumar and handed over her resignation to him. The minister has been in the eye of the storm after reports surfaced that Brajesh Thakur, the man accused of raping young girls at a shelter home in Muzaffarpur has links with her husband. Also, several leaders of the BJP, a JDU ally in Bihar, had demanded that Verma, who belongs to the JDU, should resign after the name of her husband cropped up in the case of sexual abuse of 34 minor girls at Muzaffarpur shelter home. However, Bihar Deputy Chief Minister had then backed Verma saying she need not resign "just because some people are giving statements". The opposition, the Congress and the RJD, had been continuously attacking the Nitish government for "shielding" her after key accused Brajesh Thakur's wife said that Verma's husband was a frequent visitor to the Muzaffarpur shelter home, where girls were allegedly raped over a period of time. What appears to have precipitated her quitting is the media reports that examination of mobile phone details of Brajesh Thakur showed that he had spoken to her husband 17 times from January to June this year. Thakur had admitted that he used to speak to the minister's husband, Chandeshwar Verma, but it was "on political issues". Verma had, however, been defending herself by maintaining that her husband had visited the shelter home only once and that too in her presence. She had also said that she was being targeted because she belonged to the Kushwaha caste, an OBC group. Talking to the media after tendering her resignation, Verma claimed husband is innocent and allegations against him are a part of a conspiracy. She said since she is in a public life, her husband, being a party worker, talks to a number of people. "I resigned because media and opposition had created a furore. I have faith in the judiciary and the CBI. There is a conspiracy against me and my husband. He will be proved innocent," she said.

My husband is innocent and will be proved innocent. This is a conspiracy against me and my husband. In public life we need to speak to several people. I want CDR to be made public. Have full faith in CBI and the courts: #ManjuVerma after resigning as Bihar Social Welfare Minister pic.twitter.com/vwQuXbeQxw

— ABP News (@abpnewstv) August 8, 2018

An MLA from Cheria-Bariarpur constituency in Begusarai district since 2010, Verma was a minister in the NDA government headed by Nitish Kumar from JD(U) quota. No action against the minister in the wake of the shelter home horror episode had been bringing a bad name for the CM as well his government across the country. (With inputs from PTI)