Former Bihar Minister, Husband Get 7 Years in Jail for Illegal Arms

A special court in Bihar's Begusarai has sentenced former state social welfare minister Manju Verma and her husband, Chandrashekhar Verma, to a seven-year prison term. The conviction stems from a case involving the discovery of a significant cache of illegally stored weapons and ammunition at properties linked to Verma in 2018.

The legal proceedings against the couple intensified after Manju Verma, who was a Janata Dal (United) MLA at the time, was implicated in the Muzaffarpur shelter home case. During the Central Bureau of Investigation's (CBI) probe into that scandal, raids were conducted at Verma's residences in Sripur Arjun Tola and Khanjhapur village. It was during these raids that authorities found a 3-0-3 rifle, along with other arms and ammunition, leading to the charges under the Arms Act.

In addition to the jail sentence, the court also imposed a fine of ₹50,000 on each of the Ver mas. Public prosecutor Ram Prakash Yadav confirmed the details of the sentencing, which falls under Section 25 (1-A) read with Section 35 of the Arms Act. The case had previously drawn attention from the Supreme Court, which had commented on the matter, describing the situation as a "stinker."

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They were also fined ₹50,000 each under Section 25 (1-A) read with Section 35 of the Arms Act.