Name of Bihar minister’s husband crops up in Muzaffarpur shelter sex scandal
The wife of an official arrested on charges of sexually assaulting inmates of a short-stay home in Muzaffarpur has accused the husband of state social welfare department minister Kumari Manju Verma of frequently visiting the institution and spending “long hours in the girls’ room”.
“My husband has been framed. It was the minister’s husband who would often visit the shelter with department officials. He would make them sit on the ground floor and spend hours with the girls upstairs,” Shiva Kumari Singh, wife of child protection officer (CPO) Ravi Kumar Raushan, told mediapersons on Wednesday.
The minister rejected the allegations against her husband, Chandeshwar Verma, stating that the Opposition was indulging in “petty politics” to tarnish her image. “Those people (referring to RJD chief Lalu Prasad’s family) who are neck-deep in corruption and unfair practices are trying to malign others,” Kumari Manju said, reiterating that it was her department that had detected the scandal and booked the culprits.
Incidentally, the girls had told judicial and police officers in a statement that a “pet-wale netaji (a potbellied politician)” and a “mooch-wale uncle (a mustachioed man)” used to drop by frequently to sexually abuse them.
Chandeshwar denied the allegation in an interview with a television channel, stating that he had visited the short stay home only once in the last two years – and that too after his wife became the minister of that department.
Shiva Kumari maintained that her husband would visit the short-stay home only for inspection purposes, and was always accompanied by colleagues. “He is being falsely implicated in the case by people with vested interests,” she told reporters. “I have evidence to show that police are protecting the big fish.”
She has requested chief minister Nitish Kumar to recommend a CBI probe into the case, so that only the guilty are punished. Tourism minister Pramod Kumar also asked the director general of police to investigate the case properly.
Courtesy : www.hindustantimes.com
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IPL first phase schedule announced amid travel concerns caused by war in West Asia
New Delhi (PTI): Defending champions Royal Challengers Bengaluru will take on Sunrisers Hyderabad in the IPL 2026 opener in Bengaluru on March 28 as the BCCI announced the first phase of the tournament schedule amid concerns around players' travel arrangements due to the ongoing West Asia conflict.
All matches scheduled at the Chinnaswamy Stadium remain subject to clearance from the Karnataka government appointed expert committee, which is scheduled to meet on March 13 to assess venue preparedness in the wake of the deadly stampede at the stadium last season.
The BCCI announced the schedule of the first 20 games on Wednesday and will unveil the full schedule once the dates of elections in three states -- Tamil Nadu, Assam and West Bengal -- are announced.
Besides the state elections, the escalating conflict in West Asia will also be at the forefront of BCCI officials' minds. The war has wreaked havoc to international travel with operations of major airports like Doha and Dubai being heavily restricted.
As a result of that, some of the squad members of South Africa and West Indies are yet to reach home a week after the completion of their T20 World Cup campaign.
It remains to be seen if IPL bound players of those two nations report to their respective teams in time.
"There was a substantial delay in departure of West Indies and South Africa players. It would be a tough task to get them back to India on time. Plus the airfares have gone up substantially due to the war in West Asia," a team official told PTI.
Additionally, hotels across India are facing cooking gas shortage due to the raging conflict and on Tuesday, the central government invoked Essential Commodities Act to ensure uninterrupted supply of domestic cooking gas.
Chennai Super Kings CEO Kasi Viswanthan told PTI that he is expecting his players from the West Indies and South Africa -- Akeal Hossein and Dewald Brevis, to join the team well before their IPL opener.
"We are expecting no delays from their end," he said.
The second game of the opening weekend will see Mumbai Indians host Kolkata Knight Riders at the Wankhede Stadium and the opening weekend will not feature any double-headers.
A total of 20 matches will be played across 10 venues: Bengaluru, Mumbai, Guwahati, New Chandigarh, Lucknow, Kolkata, Chennai, Delhi, Ahmedabad and Hyderabad.
"During the season, Royal Challengers Bengaluru will play five home matches in Bengaluru and two in Raipur. Punjab Kings will play four home matches in New Chandigarh and three in Dharamshala, while Rajasthan Royals will play three home matches in Guwahati and four in Jaipur," said the BCCI in a statement.
"During this period (the first 16 days), the tournament will feature four double-headers, with the afternoon matches beginning at 03:30 PM IST and the evening matches commencing at 07:30 PM IST.
"Following the opening encounter on Saturday, Mumbai Indians will take on Kolkata Knight Riders at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai on Sunday.
"The matches scheduled in Bengaluru are subject to clearance from the Expert Committee constituted by the Government of Karnataka," the BCCI added.
