All is not well in Bihar, says SC; pulls up police for not arresting ex-minister
New Delhi, Oct 31: "All is not well in Bihar", the Supreme Court said Wednesday and expressed displeasure over the failure of police in arresting former state minister Manju Verma -- who stepped down in the wake of the Muzaffarpur shelter home scandal -- in a case of recovery of "illegal ammunition" from her.
A bench comprising Justices Madan B Lokur, S Abdul Nazeer and Deepak Gupta, which had Tuesday pulled up the Bihar Police for not arresting the ex-minister, was informed by the state that Verma was in "hiding".
"All the not well in Bihar. A former minister has gone hiding and the state does not know where its former cabinet minister has gone after her (anticipatory) bail plea was rejected," the bench said while terming it as "strange".
Manju Verma had resigned as social welfare minister in Bihar government following the Muzaffarpur case, where several women at a shelter home were allegedly raped and sexually abused, after it came to light that her husband Chandrashekhar Verma had spoken to prime accused Brijesh Thakur several times between January and June.
Her husband had surrendered before a Begusarai court in Bihar on Monday in connection with the case related to recovery of ammunition.
The apex court was earlier informed that Manju Verma's anticipatory bail plea was dismissed by the Patna High Court on October 9.
During the hearing on Wednesday, the bench was also informed that the CBI team probing the Muzaffarpur shelter home case has not been changed.
Advocate Aparna Bhat, assisting the court as an amicus curiae in the case, had Tuesday told the bench that she has got information that one of the members of CBI team probing the Muzaffarpur case has been changed despite court's specific direction that composition of the investigating team be not changed without the leave of court.
The court had also directed that Brajesh Thakur be shifted to Patiala high security jail in Punjab from Bihar's Bhagalpur jail.
The order to shift Thakur out of Bihar was passed after the CBI had on October 25 told the court that he was an influential person and was found in possession of mobile phone inside the Bhagalpur jail.
On September 20, the court had said it had come on record that Chandrashekhar Verma and his wife were in "possession of illegal ammunition of a fairly large quantity". It was not clear whether they were in possession of illegal arms as well.
The court had observed that the CBI, in its status report filed earlier, had noted that an FIR has been lodged against Chandrashekhar and Manju Verma.
"The affairs of these two need to be looked into, particularly with regard to their procurement and possession of illegal ammunition and availability of illegal weapons, if any. We request the local police in the state of Bihar to look into this aspect with some degree of seriousness," the bench had said in its order.
Over 30 girls were allegedly raped and sexually abused at the shelter home in Muzaffarpur and the issue was first highlighted in an audit report submitted by the Tata Institute of Social Sciences (TISS) to the state's social welfare department.
An FIR was lodged on May 31 against 11 people, including Thakur, who was running the shelter home.
The probe was later taken over by CBI and so far 17 people have been arrested.
The apex court had earlier termed as "horrible" and "scary" details placed before it by CBI about the investigation into the case.
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CM Siddaramaiah alleges ‘criminal conspiracy’ in Sringeri recount, vows legal action
Bengaluru (PTI): Alleging a “criminal conspiracy” by BJP candidate D N Jeevaraj in the Sringeri Assembly poll recounting, Karnataka CM Siddaramaiah on Tuesday said the outcome was manipulated after valid postal ballot votes in favour of Congress leader T D Raje Gowda were tampered with during the recounting process.
Following a Karnataka High Court order on an election petition filed by Jeevaraj, challenging Raje Gowda’s election, the reverification and recounting were conducted on Saturday.
After the reverification and recount of postal ballots for the Sringeri Assembly constituency, votes polled in favour of Raje Gowda were reduced by 255, the returning officer said.
A report on the matter has been submitted to the Election Commission of India for further action, the officer added.
Congress leader Raje Gowda had won the 2023 Assembly polls from Sringeri by 201 votes, defeating his nearest rival Jeevaraj.
Addressing a press conference in Bengaluru, Siddaramaiah said the High Court had directed the recounting of postal ballots and that irregularities were noticed during the exercise conducted on May 2.
“This is a clear case of criminal conspiracy,” Siddaramaiah said, alleging that valid votes cast in favour of Raje Gowda were altered after being accepted by counting agents of all parties, including Congress, BJP, and JD(S).
He claimed that during the recounting of postal ballots, 255 votes were initially accepted as valid by all agents but were later tampered with by subordinate officials.
“There is a second mark on the votes polled in favour of Raje Gowda. They had accepted these as valid votes. Subsequently, another mark was made by officials. This is a clear case of criminal conspiracy,” he said.
When asked who was behind the alleged conspiracy, the CM replied, “It was hatched by Jeevaraj and others. It is planned.”
Siddaramaiah further alleged that the returning officer acted improperly by declaring the result despite the presence of an Election Commission observer during the recounting.
“Immediately after the counting, the returning officer announced the result. He should not have done so; this is against the law,” he said.
He pointed out that Raje Gowda had originally won by 201 votes, but after the recounting, the BJP candidate was declared the winner by 52 votes.
“The BJP has committed a criminal act of conspiracy. This is not vote chori but vote dacoity,” he alleged.
The CM said a police complaint had already been filed by Raje Gowda’s election agent, Sudhir Kumar, and emphasised the need for electoral integrity.
“We want transparency and free and fair elections. That is what our Constitution mandates,” he added.
Stating that the government would pursue legal remedies, Siddaramaiah said, “We are preparing an appeal challenging the returning officer’s announcement in a court of law.”
Responding to a separate query on elections in other states, the CM said there appeared to be an anti-incumbency factor in West Bengal, while results in Tamil Nadu were “surprising,” adding that Vijay’s party was emerging as the largest there.
Following the victory of party candidates in Bagalkote and Davanagere South, Siddaramaiah expressed confidence about future electoral prospects in Karnataka.
“Even in 2028, we will win the Assembly elections. We will come back,” the CM said.
Siddaramaiah added that he would order a forensic examination into the alleged tampering of postal ballots.
