I’ll quit politics if my husband is guilty: Minister on Bihar shelter home scandal
Rejecting allegations against her husband Chandeshwar Verma in connection with the Muzaffarpur short stay home scandal, social welfare minister Manju Verma on Thursday said he was innocent and being falsely implicated in the matter as he belonged to the Kushwaha community.
She said the case has already been handed over to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) and if her husband was found guilty, she would not only resign, but also withdraw from public life.
There have been reports of alleged involvement of the minister’s husband in Muzaffarpur shelter home sexual abuse case.
Earlier, the matter had come to light when Mumbai-based Tata Institute of Social Sciences (TISS) carried out a social audit of government-sponsored shelter homes for boys and girls across the state.
“At the legislative assembly today, Rabri Devi asked me to resign. Why should I do so? She is directing me to resign while she herself belongs to a family, which has criminal antecedents. Her husband has served jail term and her daughter, too, has been charged of corruption,” Verma said.
Many of her party members also have criminal background, the minister said, adding, “Raj Ballabh Yadav is in jail. We all know he is behind bars in a rape case.”
The minister said she and her husband were being implicated in the case at the instigation of the Opposition. “We are being targeted because we belong to the Kushwaha community. In fact, we have been turned into a tool to tarnish the image of the government,” she said, adding, she was the only woman in the state cabinet and has been working with responsibility.
Admitting that her husband had once visited the shelter home at Muzaffarpur, she said, “It was his first and last visit. Saheb wahan bas ek hi baar gaye the (My husband had gone there only once). In fact, he had accompanied me there.”
“We were invited to a function held in the memory of Jagdev Babu at Muzaffarpur a couple of years ago. After the function, I had visited the short stay home with my husband,” the minister said.
“Let CBI probe the matter. If found guilty, my husband will be punished. I will get him hanged. I myself will resign and withdraw from politics,” she said.
“We did not find the condition of shelter home girls satisfactory even at that time. But they did not complain or even open their mouth before me,” Verma said.
On a query over the action, if any, taken by her after the visit, the minister said she did not remember whether any action was taken. “More than two years have elapsed since the visit. In the past few years, we have been busy distributing old age pension,” she said.
The department has over hundred shelter homes but there have been no report of any irregularity at any of them, said the minister. “Even now, we have reports of irregularities at only five shelter homes while the rest of are doing well,” she added.
Verma said she did not know Brijesh Thakur, a key accused in the case. “Those who claim that Thakur was seen with my husband at Bihar Niwas, Delhi, must know the room was booked in my name. We have nothing to do with Thakur,” she said.
Earlier, the wife of an official arrested on charges of sexually assaulting inmates of the short stay home had accused social welfare department minister’s husband of frequently visiting the institution and spending “long hours in the girls’ room”.
Courtesy: www.hindustantimes.com
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Delhi: Father, son held for killing 19-year-old woman in suspected honour killing
New Delhi (PTI): The Delhi Police has arrested a man and his son for allegedly murdering his 19-year-old daughter in west Delhi's Hari Nagar area, an official said on Friday.
The case first came to light on April 1 after a PCR call was received around 2 pm, alleging that a woman had been killed by her family members and her body was being taken for last rites, he said.
The accused, identified as Mohammad Maneer (55), a vegetable vendor, and his son Meraj Ali (19), were arrested in connection with the case, the officer said.
The victim had been in a relationship with a man from her native place for the past two years, which was opposed by her father, Maneer and brother Meraj, he said.
"When the girl did not end the relationship despite objections, the family killed her," the officer said.
On April 1, the police said that when their team reached the spot, they found that the woman's body was being taken for burial.
Acting on the input, the burial process was stopped over suspicion of honour killing.
"Police intercepted the family members and took possession of the body," he said.
Police said that the man who had made the PCR told them that the woman was in love with his cousin.
During the inquiry, police also interacted with the PCR caller, who said his cousin, a friend of the deceased, had informed him about the situation and suspected foul play, prompting him to alert the police control room.
The body of the woman was subsequently shifted to the mortuary of Deen Dayal Upadhyay Hospital for preservation and postmortem.
Police said that both the crime team and the forensic science laboratory (FSL) team were called to inspect the scene and collect evidence.
Police said that, as per the postmortem report, the cause of death was identified as smothering, indicating that the woman was suffocated.
A preliminary inquiry also revealed that the family had initiated preparations for the last rites soon after the woman's death, raising suspicion about the circumstances.
Initial investigation pointed to the family's opposition to the woman's relationship.
"The family members of the woman saw her with the man, and she was taken back home. We got to know that she was beaten up and even locked inside the house for some days," a source said.
Further investigation into the matter is underway, police added.
