Ramadhar Singh

Gaya, June 3: The court of additional district judge II, Alok Pandey, today granted bail to former co-operative minister Ramadhar Singh, a four-time BJP legislator from Aurangabad segment.

The MLA reached the Aurangabad court sporting kurta-pyzama on May 26 at 7.30am to surrender before the sub-divisional judicial magistrate in-charge. But his bail plea was rejected.

The four-time legislator from Aurangabad complained of chest pain and giddiness soon after the judge sent him to judicial custody. Doctors immediately conducted a health check-up on him and the court directed to shift him to the Aurangabad sadar hospital on health ground.

Ramadhar was initially taken to the jail. He was shifted to the hospital from there.

Aurangabad jail superintendent Wakil Prasad Singh had said the prison administration would provide the legislator meal as per the recommendation of the doctors attending to him. Adequate security forces had been deployed around the legislator, the sub-divisional police officer of Aurangabad, Sanjay Kumar, told The Telegraph.

Ramadhar was declared an “absconder” by the court of SDJM Aurangabad around 16 years ago on December 8, 1995.

A case was lodged against Ramadhar with Madanpur police station on December 17, 1992 for allegedly making an inflammatory speech against the minority community after the demolition of Babri Masjid, defying prohibitory orders under Section 144 of CrPC that had been clamped on the area in the wake of the mosque demolition.

The court had granted bail to him in this connection but had directed him to be present during the hearing. After Singh failed to appear in person before the court during the hearing, the court declared him an “absconder” in 1995 and issued a non-bailable arrest warrant.

When the matter recently came to light, the RJD submitted a petition to Bihar Governor Devanand Konwar on May 18 demanding his dismissal.

Ramadhar had to resign as co-operative minister on May 19.

After his resignation, he filed a petition in Patna High Court seeking bail in the case. But the high court rejected his bail petition and directed him to surrender in a lower court.