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Maid murder: Dhananjay gets bail, court seeks Jagriti's record

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Press Trust of India New Delhi
Former BSP MP Dhananjay Singh, who along with his wife Jagriti Singh is accused in a case relating to murder of their maid, was today granted bail by a Delhi court which said he had not misused the liberty granted earlier and had not made any attempt to intimidate witnesses.

Additional Sessions Judge (ASJ) Lokesh Kumar Sharma said Dhananjay, who was out on interim bail, was entitled to be admitted on bail permanently till disposal of his petition seeking regular bail.

"...Keeping in view the fact that the father of accused requires constant and continuous looking after and further the fact that during entire period for which accused Dhananjay was granted interim protection, he had not misused the same or had made any attempt either to contact or to intimidate the witnesses who were still enjoying the police protection...
 

"I am of the considered opinion that accused Dhananjay Singh is entitled to be admitted on bail permanently till disposal of the present petition," the judge said.

The court said now Dhananjay has lost his aura of being a Member of Parliament which was earlier cited as a major threat for the witnesses as they were stated to be under constant threat due to his position, power and status.

The court added that his interim protection was made absolute on similar terms and conditions as imposed earlier.

Dhananjay and Jagriti were arrested on November 5 last year in connection with the death of their 35-year-old maid Rakhi Bhadra, a resident of West Bengal.

While Dhananjay was out on interim bail, Jagriti is lodged in Tihar Jail under judicial custody.

Meanwhile, the court issued a fresh notice to Tihar Jail Superintendent to depute some person for production of entire medical record from AIIMS pertaining to Jagriti on November 5.

The court issued the notice after perusing the affidavit filed by AIIMS Medical Superintendent that the entire record was sent to jail authorities under whose custody she was produced.

But the jail doctors had earlier denied the availability of any medical record in their office, the court noted.

The court fixed November 22 for hearing arguments on framing of charges.

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First Published: Oct 30 2014 | 8:41 PM IST

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