Bhanushali murder case: Former Guj MLA Chhabil Patel gets bail

Former lawmaker Chhabil Patel was Monday granted regular bail by the Gujarat High Court nearly a year after his arrest in connection with the murder of his political rival and former BJP MLA Jayanti Bhanushali.

The court of Justice Vipul Pancholi ordered Patel's release on regular bail on a personal bond of Rs 10,000 and a surety of the same amount.

The court granted him bail on the condition that he will not act in a manner that could influence the case, will surrender his passport to the lower court and will not leave India without prior permission, among others.

Patel was arrested in March last year from Ahmedabad airport upon his arrival from USA where he fled via Muscat a few days before Bhanushali's murder.

The CID-Crime, which investigated the case, said Patel had admitted to playing a key role in the conspiracy to kill Bhanushali.

His son Siddharth, two shooters and two caretakers of Patel's farmhouse in Kutch district were also arrested in the case.

Bhanushali, a former BJP MLA and former vice-president of Gujarat unit of the BJP, was shot dead in a moving train near Samakhiyali station of Kutch district on January 8 last year.

Both Bhanushali and Patel had represented Abdasa seat in Kutch district as legislators earlier, and police claimed the murder was a fallout of the political rivalry between the two.