Jaipur:
Two politicians, both from the Congress, who were allegedly involved with a nurse, who has gone missing, are being interrogated by the CBI in Jodhpur today. Mahipal Maderna is a former minister who was fired after he was accused of raping and murdering the woman; the other is Malkhan Singh, an MLA from Luni district in Rajasthan.
When the CBI cross-questioned the two leaders, they reportedly had a scuffle and accused each other of conceiving the conspiracy to abduct Bhanwari.
Maderna's wife Leela Maderna and Malkhan Singh's sister Indira Bisnoi are also being questioned by the CBI separately at the Circuit House.
Bhanwari Devi's body is yet to be found. She went missing from her home near Jaipur on September 1, amid reports that she had been blackmailing Mr Maderna with a sex CD that showed them together.
Mr Maderna, who was questioned yesterday as well, has reportedly admitted to the CBI that he had an affair with 36-year-old Bhanwari Devi, but has denied any link to her disappearance. Mr Maderna told his interrogators that it was Mr Singh who introduced him to the auxiliary midwife. In September, a court ordered that Mr Maderna be formally accused of her rape and murder - that prompted his exit in October as Water Resources Minister by Ashok Gehlot, who heads the Congress government in Rajasthan.
Investigations have so far suggested multiple links between Bhanwari Devi and Mr Singh. Sohan Lal Bishnoi, the last person she was seen with, is related to the MLA.
The CBI, which submitted a report on investigations to the Rajasthan High Court today, is also looking into audio tapes of conversations purportedly between Bhanwari Devi and the MLA's sister, Indra Vishnoi, in which the MLA's name is mentioned repeatedly.
Sources said the CBI, after questioning Mr Maderna yesterday on his alleged involvement in the case, had a much clearer idea now of why Bhanwari Devi may have been abducted. It now has to piece together the puzzle of her disappearance.
On the basis of several tapes and audio clips which it has reportedly recovered, the CBI is investigating whether Bhanwari Devi tried to blackmail Mr Maderna for crores of rupees, threatening to make their relationship public. The CBI has reportedly also questioned Mr Maderna over his alleged links with Shahabuddin and Sohan Lal Vishnoi, two men arrested in the case. They are said to have made several calls to Mr Maderna before Bhanwari Devi went missing.
Mr Maderna is being questioned at the Circuit House in Jodhpur, where the CBI team investigating the case is camping. Questioning spilled over to Friday as Mr Maderna complained that he was feeling ill due to high blood pressure yesterday. Sources said that the former minister had assured the CBI of full cooperation and that he had given "valuable information.