Jodhpur:
Sacked Rajasthan minister Mahipal Maderna, who is the prime suspect in the Bhanwari Devi case, has been released from a hospital in Jodhpur. Mr Maderna is accused of abducting and murdering Bhanwari Devi, an auxiliary nurse and midwife.
The former minister was admitted to the MDM Hospital in the city on Saturday after he complained of chest pain and high blood pressure. He was discharged today after his reports suggested that his blood pressure and sugar count was under control. The hospital had earlier confirmed that Mr Maderna is diabetic. Doctors, though, have advised him to stay at home and rest as he is suffering from urinary infection.
Mr Maderna has been able to evade questioning by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) - which is investigating the disappearance of Bhanwari Devi - since Saturday, the day he got admitted to the hospital. Prior to that, he was quizzed by the CBI for two days last week. The agency had also questioned another Congress leader, Malkhan Singh who is also an MLA from Luni. Both the leaders have acknowledged that they have had affairs with the missing nurse.
On Monday, the Rajasthan High Court had asked the CBI to expedite its probe in the case, saying the agency's credibility was at stake. The court, which took stock of the investigations carried out so far, had asked for another progress report on November 24.
On the basis of several tapes and audio clips which it has reportedly recovered, the CBI is investigating whether 36-year-old Bhanwari Devi tried to blackmail Mr Maderna for money, threatening to make their relationship public. A CD was circulated when she went missing from her home near Jodhpur. Her body is yet to be found.
The former minister has, however, denied a role in her disappearance.
Mr Maderna has reportedly told the CBI that he was introduced to Bhanwari Devi by Pushkar Singh. One of the audio clips the investigating agency is looking into has conversations purportedly between Bhanwari Devi and Mr Singh's sister, Indra Vishnoi, in which the MLA's name is mentioned repeatedly. The agency has already questioned Vishnoi.
The case came as a huge embarrassment for Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot, who was forced to drop Mr Maderna from his cabinet on October 16, after a court directed that a case of abduction and murder be registered against him. Last Sunday, Mr Maderna was suspended from the Congress. Mr Gehlot had visited Mr Maderna in hospital on Tuesday.