Ex-Bihar minister Manju Verma surrenders before court
Begusarai (Bihar), Nov 20: Former Bihar minister Manju Verma, who had been evading arrest in an Arms Act case lodged in the course of investigations in the Muzaffarpur shelter home scandal, surrendered before a court here Tuesday.
Verma reached the court of the Additional Chief Judicial Magistrate Prabhat Trivedi in an auto rickshaw. She fainted as soon as she entered the court premises along with a few aides.
She regained consciousness after water was sprinkled on her face by bystanders after which she was taken into the courtroom.
The Supreme Court had on November 12 rapped the Bihar Police for failing to arrest the former minister and directed the DGP to appear before it in person on November 27 if she was not nabbed by then.
Verma had stepped down as the minister for social welfare in August, following reports that her husband, Chandrashekhar Verma, had close links with Brijesh Thakur, the prime accused in the Muzaffarpur shelter home scandal. Over 30 girls were allegedly raped at the shelter home.
The Arms Act case was lodged against Verma following recovery of a huge quantity of ammunition from her residence here during a CBI raid.
Let the Truth be known. If you read VB and like VB, please be a VB Supporter and Help us deliver the Truth to one and all.
Rupee trades in narrow range against US dollar in early trade
Mumbai (PTI): The rupee traded in a narrow range against the US dollar in early trade on Thursday as the support from fresh foreign fund inflows was negated by trade deal uncertainty and risk-off sentiment.
Forex traders said lack of progress in the India-US trade negotiations and strong dollar demand from corporates and importers weighed on the local unit, even as Brent crude prices hovering near USD 60 per barrel supported investor sentiment.
At the interbank foreign exchange market, the rupee opened at 90.35 against the US dollar, then gained some ground and touched 90.32 against the US dollar. In initial trade it also touched 90.38 against the American currency.
ALSO READ:Rupee sees high volatility against US dollar in early trade
On Wednesday, the rupee recovered 55 paise from its all-time low level to close at 90.38 against the greenback.
"The PSU banks were the sellers of dollars on Wednesday on behalf of the RBI. The intervention amount could have been as high as USD 6 billion," said Anil Kumar Bhansali, Head of Treasury and Executive Director Finrex Treasury Advisors LLP.
"We expect the range of 90 to 91.00 on Thursday with 90.25 as support and 90.75 as resistance," Bhansali added.
Meanwhile, the dollar index, which gauges the greenback's strength against a basket of six currencies, was trading 0.05 per cent higher at 98.41.
Brent crude, the global oil benchmark, was trading higher by 0.67 per cent at USD 60.08 per barrel in futures trade.
On the domestic equity market front, the 30-share benchmark index Sensex was trading 114.06 points lower at 84,445.59, while the Nifty was down 41.10 points at 25,777.45.
Foreign Institutional Investors purchased equities worth Rs 1,171.71 crore on Wednesday, according to exchange data.
