Balasore, April 2: Former law minister Raghunath Mohanty and his wife Pritilata were released from jail today after the sub-divisional magistrate court granted them conditional bail.

The duo had been in Balasore jail since Saturday on charges of dowry torture.

Assistant public prosecutor Arun Behera said: “With Rs 10,000 security and a surety for each of the petitioner, the court granted them bail with conditions that they will not go outside the state without intimating the court and co-operate with police in the investigation.”

Defence counsel Niranjan Panda said: “There are no direct allegations against Mohanty and his wife, for which the court granted him the bail.”

The Mohanty couple were released from the jail at 1.25pm. A huge crowd of supporters turned out to greet their leader. It became a tough task for the police and jail authorities to control them.

Mohanty’s daughter-in-law Barsa Swony Choudhary said: “I respect the court order, but I feel a threat to my life as well as to my family since they are influential people. I feel more threatened from my mother-in-law Pritilata. I have sought police protection.”

The couple applied for the bail on Saturday after they had been arrested from Howrah in Bengal on March 30 by Odisha police in connection with the allegations of dowry torture levelled by Barsa. Soon after she had lodged the police complaint, Mohanty tendered his resignation from the Naveen Patnaik government on March 15 and went missing along with his wife.

With Mohanty released from jail today, speculation is rife that he might attend the Assembly session tomorrow. The Speaker today informed the House about Mohanty’s arrest by Odisha police.

The bail petition of the prime accused Raja Shree Mohanty, Barsa’s husband, who has been in jail since March 18, will be heard tomorrow.