Muzaffarpur shelter home case: Former Bihar Minister Manju Verma's husband surrenders
Begusarai (Bihar), Oct 29 : Chandrashekhar Verma, the absconding husband of former Bihar minister Manju Verma who had stepped down following allegations of links with the prime accused in the Muzaffarpur shelter home sex scandal case, surrendered before a court here Monday, officials said.
Verma surrendered before the Manjhaul sub-divisional court in Begusarai district where Judicial Magistrate Yogesh Kumar Mishra remanded him in judicial custody till November 6.
He has been booked in an Arms Act case registered in connection with the recovery of a huge cache of ammunition from his residence in Begusarai district during a CBI raid.
His wife Manju Verma had resigned as the state social welfare minister in August. Over 30 girls were allegedly raped at the shelter home run by Brajesh Thakur, the chief of a state-funded NGO.
The alleged sexual exploitation of the girls was first highlighted in an audit report submitted by the Tata Institute of Social Sciences to the state's social welfare department.
Manju Verma had to resign following reports which alleged that her husband had close links with Thakur, the prime accused in the scandal who owned the NGO which ran the shelter home.
A case was registered against Chandrashekhar Verma a few weeks after his wife's resignation and he was recently declared an absconder with notices for surrender pasted on his house by the police.
The Supreme Court, while going through a status report of the CBI in the Muzaffarpur shelter home scandal last week, had expressed strong displeasure as no action was taken against Chandrashekhar Verma.
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Another North Goa nightclub sealed; Kejriwal says corruption led to fire tragedy
Panaji (PTI): As part of a crackdown against tourist establishments violating laws and safety norms in the aftermath of the Arpora fire tragedy, Goa authorities on Saturday sealed a renowned club at Vagator and revoked the fire department NOC of another club.
Cafe CO2 Goa, located on a cliff overlooking the Arabian Sea at Vagator beach in North Goa, was sealed. The move came two days after Goya Club, also in Vagator, was shut down for alleged violations of rules.
Elsewhere, campaigning for local body polls, AAP leader Arvind Kejriwal said the fire incident at Birch by Romeo Lane nightclub at Arpora, which claimed 25 lives on December 6, happened because the BJP government in the state was corrupt.
An inspection of Cafe CO2 Goa by a state government-appointed team revealed that the establishment, with a seating capacity of 250, did not possess a no-objection certificate (NOC) of the Fire and Emergency Services Department. The club, which sits atop Ozrant Cliff, also did not have structural stability, the team found.
The Fire and Emergency Services on Saturday also revoked the NOC issued to Diaz Pool Club and Bar at Anjuna as the fire extinguishers installed in the establishment were found to be inadequate, said divisional fire officer Shripad Gawas.
A notice was issued to Nitin Wadhwa, the partner of the club, he said in the order.
Campaigning at Chimbel village near Panaji in support of his party's Zilla Panchayat election candidate, Aam Aadmi Party leader Kejriwal said the nightclub fire at Arpora happened because of the "corruption of the Pramod Sawant-led state government."
"Why this fire incident happened? I read in the newspapers that the nightclub had no occupancy certificate, no building licence, no excise licence, no construction licence or trade licence. The entire club was illegal but still it was going on," he said.
"How could it go on? Couldn't Pramod Sawant or anyone else see it? I was told that hafta (bribe) was being paid," the former Delhi chief minister said.
A person can not work without bribing officials in the coastal state, Kejriwal said, alleging that officers, MLAs and even ministers are accepting bribes.
