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Bhubaneswar: Ex-minister Raghunath Mohanty and his wife Pritilata, who are facing dowry charges, were sent to judicial custody. The SDJM Court, Balasore, will hear the duo's bail application on April 2. Sources said Mohanty has been expelled from the post of BJD Vice President.
Earlier in the day, the Human Rights Protection Cell (HRPC) team probing the dowry torture case lodged by the former minister's daughter-in law arrested the BJD leader and his wife from Kolkata.
“Former minister Raghunath Mohanty and his wife Pritilata Mohanty were arrested from Shalimar area of Kolkata today. They will be produced in the SDJM, Balasore soon,” HRPC ADG BK Sharma said.
A couple of days after the BJD leaders including chief whip Prabhat Tripathy urged the Basta MLA to surrender before police for the interest of the party, the HRPC team,which camped in Kolkata for last four days, arrested the accused BJD leader. Tripathy on March 26 appealed the ex-minister to surrender while his deputy Sanjay Dasburma made a similar appeal on Friday.
Reacting to the arrest of the ex-minister, his daughter-in-law Barsha Soni Choudhury said, “I am not completely happy with the arrest of the former minister and his wife as two others are yet to be nabbed.”
Meanwhile, PCC president Niranjan Patnaik said, "Raghunath Mohanty should be tried in a fast-track court."
Another accused in the case Rajashree Mohanty, the husband of the complainant, had been arrested on March 16. He is under judicial custody after his bail petition was rejected by a local court in Balasore.
Raghunath had resigned from the State cabinet on March 15, a day after his daughter-in-law Barsa Sony Choudhury lodged an FIR against him and family members at the Balasore Town Police station.
