BALASORE, ODISHA, Apr 3:
A local court today deferred hearing of the bail petition of dowry torture accused Raja Shree Mohanty, son of former minister Raghunath Mohanty, till tomorrow.
District Sessions Judge V Jayashree postponed the hearing as Raja Shree’s lawyer sought time to furnish some documents relating to the bail application.
The judge, who took up the bail petition under section 439 of CrPC, adjourned the proceedings following a time petition filed by the petitioner, said Niranjan Panda, Raja Shree Mohanty’s advocate.
Raja Shree, who was arrested by the Human Rights Protection Cell on March 17 near Cuttack for allegedly torturing his wife for dowry, was produced before the SDJM court on March 18 and remanded to judicial custody at Balasore for 14 days after his bail plea was rejected by the court.
His subsequent bail applications on March 21 and 25 were also rejected and on March 30 his remand period in the judicial custody was extended to further 14 days by the court.
Raja Shree’s bail petitions had been rejected on the ground that other accused persons had not been arrested by that time.
The ex-minister and his wife, who were arrested, spent three nights in jail before being released on bail yesterday.
Raghunath Mohanty, his wife Pritilata and son Raja Shree were arrested on the basis of an FIR lodged by Raja Shree’s wife Barsa Swony Choudury on March 14.
Two other accused – Mohanty’s daughter Rupashree and son-in-law Subhendu Madhual – are yet to be traced.
Barsa, who had married Raja Shree in June last year, had accused Mohanty’s family members in her FIR of demanding Rs 25 lakh and a luxury vehicle as dowry and torturing her physically and mentally.
Mohanty, who resigned from Naveen Patnaik’s ministry on March 15 following the dowry torture case, was subsequently removed as vice-president from the ruling BJD. (PTI)
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