New Delhi: Bihar minister Manju Verma has resigned over allegations against her husband, who is accused of links to the Muzaffarpur shelter rape horror. The police say call records to confirm that minister Manju Verma's husband was regularly in touch with the man who ran the shelter home in Muzaffarpur in which over 30 girls were raped and tortured. Seventeen calls were exchanged between them this year, say sources.
The call records also establish that between October and May, the minister's husband, Chandeshwar Verma, visited the shelter home nine times, each time for several hours.
Minister has accepted her husband used to speak to Thakur but said they didn't realise he was a criminal.
Verma's resignation under a cloud would have significant political implications in the days to come.
According to political experts, Verma's resignation would give an 'edge' to BJP, which is the key alliance partner in the Bihar government led by Chief Minister Nitish Kumar. Verma is a JD(U) MLA from Cheria-Bariarpur.
"The resignation of Manju Verma would reduce the seat bargaining power of Nitish Kumar, who must have been aiming to get the lions' share out of 40 seats in the upcoming Lok Sabha elections. Now, the JD(U) may settle for ten seats," the experts said.