Jodhpur:
The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), which is under pressure to complete its probe into Bhanwari Devi's disappearance, may have to wait before it can question former Rajasthan state Minister Mahipal Maderna again. The former minister is in a hospital in Jodhpur since Saturday and doctors have said that it is not advisable for him to undergo any stress at the moment.
Dr Arvind Mathur, Superintendent of the hospital where Mr Maderna was admitted after complaining of chest pain, said his medical parameters were stable but he was diabetic, had hypertension and was running a fever since yesterday.
The CBI had questioned Mr Maderna for two days last week before he was admitted to the hospital. They subsequently questioned another Congress leader, Luni MLA Malkhan Singh. Both have acknowledged that they have had affairs with the missing midwife-nurse. The agency wants to question Mr Maderna again as it anxious to piece together the puzzle of
Bhanwari Devi's disappearance at the earliest.
On Monday, the Rajasthan High Court 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, has asked for another progress report on 24 November.
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 has 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. On Sunday, Mr Maderna was suspended from the Congress. The chief minister visited Mr Maderna in hospital yesterday.