BHOPAL: A court in Bhopal in Madhya Pradesh on Saturday granted bail to Vyapam scam whistle-blower Dr Anand Rai in a case lodged on the complaint of an official in the chief minister's secretariat.
Rai, an ophthalmologist, was arrested on Thursday in Delhi and brought here the next day after a case was filed on the complaint of Laxman Singh Markam, deputy secretary in the CM's secretariat.
Markam had alleged that Rai and state Congress chief spokesperson KK Mishra had maligned his image by dragging his name in the leak of the MP Teachers' Eligibility Test (TET) held on March 25.
Rai was charged under IPC sections 419 (cheating by personation), 469 (forgery for purpose of harming reputation), 470, (using a forged document as a genuine one), 500 (defamation), 504 (intentional insult) and 120 B (criminal conspiracy) as well as provisions of the Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe (Prevention of Atrocities) Act on March 26.
"My client Dr Rai has got bail. He will furnish a bail bond of Rs 50,000 and an equal amount as surety to be released as per the court's order," his lawyer Rakesh Tiwari told PTI on Saturday.
Rai was produced in the court Special Judge (SC/ST Atrocities cases) Kamal Joshi after his one-day police remand ended.
Rai's counsels told court that his social media post did not attract charges under the SC/ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, while other sections invoked against him were bailable.
The prosecution had sought that Rai be sent to judicial custody till April 21 as he had tarnished the image of a tribal officer and he was also continuously violating the conduct rule book of the government.
Rai, working as a medical officer at Hukumchand Hospital in Indore, was suspended under MP Civil Service Rules some time after he was arrested.
The MP TET was conducted by the Madhya Pradesh Karmachari Chayan Aayog (Staff Selection Board), which was earlier known as Vyavasayik Pareeksha Mandal, or Vyapam.
Vyapam had hit national headlines due to a massive recruitment scam that came to light in 2011.