Spl court turns down bail plea of adopted son of 'Godman'

A special court today rejected the bail application of Satyam Roul, the adopted son of arrested self-styled godman Santosh Roul alias Sarathi Baba.
The court of S N Rajguru also adjourned hearing on the bail plea of Santosh Roul to September 4.
The special court, set up by Odisha government to adjudicate matters pertaining to SC and ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, started functioning on the first day here.
During argument on bail plea of Satyam, his counsel prayed that the 20-year-old boy had no known source of income and all the valuables and properties found in his name were made by his father who as a key accused in the case is already in judicial custody.

However, opposing the bail plea, the crime branch counsel said offences under section 423 and 467 of IPC are made out against Satyam since he has purchased a flat in Bhubaneswar by paying Rs 1.15 crore but the sale deed mentions only Rs 55 lakh as the cost of the property.
"This undervaluation of the property during registration has caused pecuniary loss to the state exchequer," the prosecution said.

Similarly, for receiving 'stolen properties' and having a bank balance of Rs 25 lakh, the accused deserved punishment under section 411 (dishonestly receiving stolen property) of IPC, the crime branch argued opposing bail to Satyam.

Meanwhile, in a related development, the crime branch police arrested three friends of Satyam from Bhubaneswar today.
The friends were accused of receiving Rs 20 lakh from Satyam to help his escape from the state earlier this month when the police were looking for him.