BSP MP granted bail in maid torture case

A court here Saturday granted two months interim bail to Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) parliamentarian Dhananjay Singh, accused for torturing his maid.

However, he cannot walk out of jail, as he has not been granted bail in a separate rape case in which he is facing trial.

Additional Sessions Judge Lokesh Kumar Sharma granted two month interim bail to Singh on a personal bond of Rs.1 lakh and two sureties of the like amount.

Delhi Police had opposed the bail plea. However, it informed court that two prime witnesses in the case have been provided security in pursuance to the order passed by a magisterial court last year.

Earlier, the court had directed police to submit its report on the compliance of an earlier order by a magisterial court in November 2013, where the judge directed police to protect the witnesses in the case.

Singh's counsel Hariharan and S.P.M. Tripathi, while requesting the court to release their client on bail, told the court that the witnesses were already granted protection by police and there was no chance for his client to influence them.

The court had last month rejected the bail plea of Dhananjay Singh, accused of destroying evidence to shield his wife, who was arrested for torturing her maid leading to her death.

The sitting MP from Uttar Pradesh's Jaunpur, was charge sheeted Feb 1 along with his wife Jagriti for various offences, including destroying evidence and abetting murder and attempt to murder.

The BSP leader and his wife, a dental surgeon in a government hospital here, were arrested in November 2013 and are currently in judicial custody.