Maharashtra ex-Deputy CM Bhujbal gets bail
Mumbai, May 4: Former Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister and senior Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) leader Chhagan Bhujbal was granted bail by the Bombay High Court on Friday.
The NCP legislator from Yeola in Nashik has been in jail for nearly two years and two months since his arrest on March 14, 2016 in certain cases pertaining to corruption and money laundering.
After his bail pleas were rejected on at least five previous occasions, Bhujbal, 71, got bail on Friday on various grounds including his frail health, advanced age and the fact that the trial has not yet started, his lawyer Sujay Kantawala told mediapersons.
NCP leaders Ajit Pawar, MP Supriya Sule-Pawar and state spokesperson Nawab Malik hailed the ruling as thousands of Bhujbal supporters erupted in celebrations with fireworks and distribution of sweets in both Mumbai and Nashik.
However, former AAP leader and anti-graft activist Anjali Damania pointed out that the court has only granted him bail, "he has not been exonerated or acquitted in the corruption cases and he will again go to jail".
The founder-president of the influential Mahatma Phule Samata Parishad, Bhujbal's role during his tenure as Public Works Department Minister had been under a scanner after allegations of a scam in the construction of the Maharashtra Sadan in New Delhi, money laundering and other charges.
Suffering from ill health, he has been in and out of hospital several times in the past over two years, and it is not immediately known when he will return to active politics.
Starting his career with the Shiv Sena, the senior OBC leader who is an aggressive force in state politics is expected to walk out of custody later this evening after completing the bail formalities, including furnishing a bail bond amount of Rs 5 lakh, said his lawyer.
His nephew and former NCP MP from Nashik, Sameer Bhujbal, who was also arrested in February 2016 on various charges of corruption, is currently in judicial custody.
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TN youth from UAE has tested negative for Mpox: Health Minister Subramanian
Chennai, Nov 2: A 27-year-old native of Thiruvarur district, who had arrived from Sharjah, has tested negative for monkey pox, Health Minister Ma Subramanian said here on Saturday.
Test results from both the King Institute of Preventive Medicine and Research here and the Pune-based National Institute of Virology have show negative for Mpox virus, the minister said.
Subramanian had earlier in the day told reporters that result was awaited for the sample that had been dispatched to the NIV while test result from King Institute ruled out monkey pox.
On October 31, upon his arrival at Tiruchirappalli airport from the UAE, during screening, the young man displayed fever symptoms and small skin lesions. Hence, he was taken to a government hospital.
Subramanian said the returnee had been frightened and hence left for his hometown of Valangaiman in Thiruvarur district. "This treatment is for his good and in order to prevent the spread of infection," the minister said.
Hence, he was brought back to the hospital by the authorities with police help and he has been receiving good treatment at the state-run facility. Further, Subramanian said that the test result from the government-run King Institute indicated Chickenpox and marked negative for presence of Mpox.
Screening at airports for passengers arriving from foreign countries is going on continuously in the state and international airports have dedicated isolated rooms.
Special wards are ready in government medical college hospitals, including those in Chennai and Tiruchirappalli, to provide treatment for Mpox, in case anyone tests positive for the infection, the minister added.
