RAIPUR: A Raipur court on Tuesday remanded senior journalist Vinod Verma to 14-day judicial custody. Verma was arrested by Chhattisgarh police from his Ghaziabad residence last Friday in connection with the sex tape case purportedly involving a senior state minister.
He was produced by the police in the court of Judicial Magistrate First Class Bhavesh Kumar Vatti who sent him to jail until November 13. Verma was in police remand for three days. The police didn't seek further remand.
Verma, who earlier worked as BBC Hindi service correspondent and is a member of Editors Guild of India, was brought to Chhattisgarh on transit remand, is facing the allegation of extortion and blackmailing using a sex tape.
Verma's lawyers citing the case as high profile sought security for their client expressing "threat to his life" and also demanded a separate cell for him in the Raipur Central Jail. They have so far not taken any decision to move a bail application for him.
Verma said that he will not give up and fight against the "baseless allegations".
The Raman Singh government alleging the sex CD case as political criminal conspiracy decided to hand over the case to the Central Bureau of Investigation.
The Chhattisgarh Congress president Bhupesh Baghel opposed the arrest of Verma. "Such arrest is a murder of democracy. Can merely the possession of any CD be a ground for arrest?", Baghel asked.