Arrested godman, son to make court appearance through VC

Allowing a plea of Odisha Police, a court here has ordered the Choudwar jail authorities to make arrangements for video conferencing (VC) to avoid physical production of arrested godman Santosh Roul and his adopted son Satyam in court.
Facing problems in production of the father-son duo in the court and apprehending threat to their lives, the Crime Branch of the police had urged the court to dispense with their physical production and hold the hearing through video conferencing.
The court of sub-divisional judicial magistrate (SDJM) here yesterday accepted the Crime Branch plea and directed the jail authorities to make necessary arrangements for video conferencing.

Both the accused, who are under judicial custody, were directed for appearance in the court on September 2.
Earlier, under heavy escort, the duo were made to travel from jail to court and vice versa. The Crime Branch had also beefed up security in the court premises as mobs were chasing and heckling the alleged fake godman and his son.
Under section 167 of CrPC the accused under judicial custody are to be produced in the court once in every fortnight till the charge sheets are filed.