Maharashtra ex-deputy CM Bhujbal gets bail

mumbai — 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. —