CBI raid leads to arms seizure, sentencing of Manju Verma’s family

A recent CBI operation in Begusarai culminated in the seizure of a large stock of firearms and ammunition from the residence of former Bihar minister Manju Verma and her husband Chandra Shekhar. The raid, carried out in a remote village, triggered the filing of an Arms Act case that eventually reached the MP/MLA special court.

During the trial, Additional Public Prosecutor Ram Prakash Yadav presented the confiscated weapons as core evidence, while seven witnesses—including the former Deputy SP of the CBI’s Dhanbad zone—provided corroborating statements. The Special Judge, Brijesh Kumar Singh, ruled that both defendants deserved a rigorous imprisonment of seven years.

Manju Verma’s political career was already under scrutiny after she was deemed a close confidante of then Chief Minister Nitish Kumar. Her forced resignation from the Social Welfare Ministry preceded the CBI’s investigation, which also uncovered alleged ties between her husband and Brijesh Thakur, a key accused in the Muzaffarpur shelter‑home case.

The sentencing underscores the judiciary’s resolve to address longstanding arms violations and highlights the intricate connections between political figures and criminal investigations in Bihar.