Jaipur:
Former Rajasthan Minister Mahipal Maderna is being questioned by the Central Bureau of Investigation over his alleged involvement in the sensational Bhanwari Devi case. The ex-minister is a key accused in the case, which has come as a huge embarrassment for chief minister Ashok Gehlot.
He is being questioned at the Circuit House in Jodhpur, where the CBI team investigating the case is camping. The agency has to give an update of its probe to the Rajasthan High Court tomorrow.
With his government under fire for the disappearance of Bhanwari Devi, a midwife and nurse, Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot had sacked Mr Maderna from his cabinet on October 16.
Mr Maderna, the former Water Resources Minister, has been accused of kidnapping and murdering Bhanwari Devi. The 36-year-old auxiliary nurse midwife went missing from Bilada near Jodhpur on September 1. Her husband, Amarchand Nat had alleged that she was abducted at the behest of Mr Maderna and his associates.
The former minister allegedly had an affair with Bhanwari Devi. Proof of this is allegedly contained in a CD that showed him caught in a compromising position with her which is missing.
Mr Maderna had refuted all the charges levelled against him. But the Rajasthan High Court made some sharp observations over the shoddy probe into the case and a case of rape and murder was registered against him.
The CBI took over the case last month and is hoping for a breakthrough after questioning Mr Maderna. It had questioned the kin of a Rajasthan Congress MLA and a suspended policeman earlier this week. Three persons who had allegedly lured the nurse out of the house have been arrested. They have reportedly told the CBI that they handed Bhanwari Devi over to another gang.
The agency had recently seized a camcorder and a computer but data had been erased from them, CBI sources said. Officials suspect that the camera and computer might have been used to film and store footage which may have evidence relating to Bhanwari Devi's disappearance.
A few audio clips of purported conversation of Bhanwari Devi with Sohanlal, one of the accused, and Indira Devi, had also come to light, the sources said.
(With PTI inputs)