New Delhi, May 7 -- Dissatisfied with the "rats ate the cash" explanation, the Supreme Court has decided to go deeper into the issue, signalling a wider inquiry into how evidence is stored in police malkhanas (evidence rooms) in Bihar and whether public money is being routinely lost in the process. A bench of justices JB Pardiwala and KV Viswanathan said that it was "taken by surprise" at the claim that currency notes seized in a corruption case were destroyed by rodents, and indicated that the issue would be examined when the main matter is taken up for final hearing. "We are taken by surprise that the currency notes got destroyed by rodents. It is a huge revenue loss for the State," said the bench in a recent order. The bench added that it was inclined to embark on a broader inquiry into evidence management practices in Bihar - one that could have implications well beyond the facts of the present case. The court's remarks came while granting bail to a former child development programme officer convicted under the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988. The bench suspended her four-year sentence. The case arises from a 2019 trap operation conducted by the Economic Offences Unit in Bihar, where the accused was alleged to have accepted Rs.10,000 as a bribe. htc...