Shifting of Bhanwari case accused to hospital is illegal: CBI

"He is currently under the judicial custody and lodged in Ajmer Central Jail as per our knowledge. If he has been shifted to a hospital in Jodhpur, it has been done without any permission of the court, which is illegal," Senior Special Counsel for CBI, Ashok Joshi said.

The agency would bring to the notice of the court the shifting of Bishnoi to a hospital here, Joshi said.

"If had any problem or urgency requiring medical aid, he should have been shifted to the government hospital in Ajmer only but the step seemed to have been taken up to escape the jail," the CBI counsel said.

However, the Ajmer jail administration has claimed that Bishnoi has been released from the hospital on courts order.

"The permission was obtained by him from the court a few days back and we released him for the hospital in Jodhpur three days ago," Ajmer jail superintendent Shankar Lal Ojha said

It may be recalled that Bishnoi had remained in a private hospital in Jaipur for over three months and has sought bail on health grounds twice, both of which have been rejected.

On the other hand, another main accused in the case Mahipal Maderna has also been cooling his heels in a private hospital in Jodhpur for the past two months.