Patna: Amid the sudden transfer of the officer heading the central probe into the Muzaffarpur shelter home sexual abuse, there is buzz that the dragnet was closing in on former social welfare minister Kumari Manju Verma and her husband Chandeshwar Verma.

CBI superintendent of police (SP) J.P. Mishra, who was heading the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) team probing the alleged sexual exploitation and torture at the Muzaffarpur Balika Grih, was transferred on Tuesday night to the office of the deputy inspector-general (DIG), CBI, Patna range.

Devendra Singh, SP, CBI, Lucknow, (anti-corruption bureau), will replace Mishra for the time being. Singh, who has been given additional charge of SP, CBI, Patna, had earlier worked here.

Mishra had been transferred to Patna only two months ago from Jammu and Kashmir on health grounds. A CBI spokesperson in Delhi said on Wednesday that Mishra has been given rest for some time due to his health problem. The spokesperson, however, said that Mishra would continue to help the probe team, which is camping in Muzaffarpur and Patna as well.

The spokesperson described the transfer as a routine one and said there was nothing unusual about it.

The sudden transfer of Mishra, however, drew flak from the Opposition as he was removed from the investigation when he was about to submit an action taken report to the high court in the Muzaffarpur case that has shaken up Bihar as well as the country. At least 34 of the 42 girls staying at the Balika Grih were found to have been raped. The girls had also narrated horrifying tales of abuse.

"He (Mishra) has been transferred at a time when the probe team was looking into financial transactions and other related aspects to get into the genesis of the scandal," said RJD leader Bhai Birendra. He said that a similar incident had happened in the Srijan scam case.

RJD Rajya Sabha member Manoj Jha said: "If it was a routine transfer, then the definition and meaning of 'transfer' should be changed. The officer was removed in the midst of the investigation, which gives credence to people's perception that bigwigs were being shielded in the case."

Mishra, sources said, may opt for voluntary retirement.

Arrest speculation

Speculation is also rife that Kumari Manju Verma, who had to step down as social welfare minister in the aftermath of the Muzaffarpur revelations, and her former-MLC husband Chandeshwar Verma could be arrested soon.

The CBI had registered an FIR with the Cheria Bariyarpur police station in Begusarai against the couple under the Arms Act following the recovery of 50 live cartridges of different bore, including some prohibited ones, from their Arjun Tola house under Sripur panchayat on June 17.

Cheria Bariyarpur police station house officer (SHO) R.K. Rajak said the seized cartridges had been sent to the state forensic laboratory in Patna for examination.

"The forensic report is awaited," the SHO said, adding that action against the accused would be initiated on the basis of the report.

Begusarai deputy superintendent of police (DSP), headquarters, K.K. Singh has been asked to supervise the case lodged by a DSP of the CBI. Though K.K. Singh refused to make any comment, an officer associated with the investigation said the DSP was awaiting instructions from seniors.

"The case is so high profile that nobody wants to earn the wrath of the former minister and her former-lawmaker husband even though the complainant of the case is none other than the CBI," the investigating officer said under cover of anonymity.

The couple may have to serve three years in prison if convicted in the case lodged under the Arms Act. Authoritative sources said that 18 cartridges of .323 bore, 19 cartridges of 7.62 mm calibre, six cartridges of .303 calibre and seven cartridges of 8 mm calibre were seized by the CBI.