The Supreme Court on Thursday rebuked the Bihar government for not bringing culprits to book in the Muzzaffarpur sheltar home case and sought a response from the government as to the reasons why accused Chandrashekhar Verma has not been arrested till now.

Amicus Aparna Bhat told the bench of Justices Madan B Lokur, S Abdul Nazeer and Deepak Gupta that Verma has still not been arrested and was spotted in the official residence of his wife Manju Verma in Patna. She was a minister in the Nitish Kumar government and was forced to step down following her husband’s alleged involvement in the case.

Bhat also told the bench that key accused Brajesh Thakur was influencing the staff of Bhagalpur jail and had access to mobile phones. “He is in contact with around 40 people through mobile phone. He should be shifted out of Bhagalpur jail,” Bhat said.

Upon the submissions, Justice Lokur said he was also of the view that Thakur should be shifted out of Bhagalpur jail and added “chargesheet have to be filed in the appropriate court and thereafter he can be shifted to other place”.  Justice Lokur issued notice to Thakur to showcause as to why he should not be shifted out from Bhagalpur jail.

The court also ordered the demolition of the four-storey shelter home after being informed that it was unauthorized. The bench was hearing a batch of petitions on the Muzaffarpur Sheltar home.

The matter was posted for next hearing to Oct 30.

                                                                                                       —India Legal Bureau