21/11/2020

Retired IPS officer accuses Nitish of shielding tainted leader





Patna Nov 21 (IANS) Retired IPS officer (retd) Amitabh Kumar Das has levelled a serious allegation against Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar of protecting 'tainted' JD(U) leader Manju Verma.

In a letter to DGP Bihar A.K. Singhal, Das alleged that the Begusarai police are delaying the probe against Verma on the direction of the Chief Minister.

Ex-state minister Verma is facing serious charges in the Mujaffarpur mass gang-rape case in which minor girls were allegedly sexually assaulted at a government-funded shelter home. She has also been booked by the CBI after the recovery of 50 live cartridges from her house in Cheria Bariyarpur in 2018. She is currently out on bail in both the cases.

In the letter, Das has urged Singhal for speedy trial in these cases.

"I have written a letter to the Bihar DGP and urged him to initiate speedy trial and investigation. The police are not reacting quickly despite an FIR been registered against her at the Cheria Bariyarpur police station. Due to the delay, she is avoiding conviction in the court of law. As a result, she is freely contesting elections despite facing serious criminal charges," Das said.

"I have requested the Bihar DGP to order the district police for a speedy probe. Once she gets convicted, she will be barred from contesting polls," Das said.

Manju Verma had served jail term in connection with the horrifying 2018 Mujaffarpur mass gang-rape case. The first FIR was registered in this regard on May 31, 2018 on the recommendation of Tata Institute of Social Sciences (TISS), Mumbai. TISSM had submitted its report on May 26, 2018 before the Bihar government highlighting alleged sexual assault against 34 minor girls aged 9 to 18 years.

Verma was then the Social Empowerment Minister in the Nitish Kumar-led cabinet and her husband reportedly had direct connection with the main accused, Brajesh Thakur.

Das, a 1994 batch IPS officer, recently came into limelight after he wrote a similar letter against Mewalal Chaudhary, who was appointed the Education Minister in the newly-formed Bihar cabinet, on November 17. The letter was used by the opposition leaders to corner Chaudhary, who subsequently resigned from his post within hours of assuming office on November 19.

 


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