Bhanwari Devi murder case accused allowed to be taken to Jaipur for cancer treatment

A Jodhpur bench of the Rajasthan High Court gave the relief to Maderna on an interim bail plea in which he had pleaded that he has been suffering from the oral cavity cancer and needs treatment in a specialized medical centre. A single-judge bench of Justice Dinesh Mehta allowed him to be taken to Jaipur AIIMS by two constables, accompanied with a senior police officer, if possible, preferably by Wednesday evening.

Former Rajasthan minister Mahipal Maderna, lodged in Jodhpur Central Jail and facing trial in the 2011 kidnapping-cum-murder case of Dalit nurse Bhanwari Devi, was on Tuesday allowed by the state high court to be taken to Jaipur-AIIMS for the examination of his oral cavity cancer. A Jodhpur bench of the Rajasthan High Court gave the relief to Maderna on an interim bail plea in which he had pleaded that he has been suffering from the oral cavity cancer and needs treatment in a specialized medical centre.

A single-judge bench of Justice Dinesh Mehta allowed him to be taken to Jaipur AIIMS by two constables, accompanied with a senior police officer, if possible, preferably by Wednesday evening. Justice Mehta also directed the Jodhpur superintendent of police (rural) to arrange for the former minister’s examination in Jaipur-AIIMS.

Pleading for an interim bail to the ex-minister, his counsel Pradeep Choudhary said his client has been diagnosed with some malignancy during a check-up recently at Jodhpur-AIIMS. “This report by AIIMS has advised PET CT scan to ascertain the stage of malignancy and decide the future course of action/treatment,” said Choudhary, adding that the PET CT scan facility is not available in Jodhpur.

The bench gave the relief to Maderna after the CBI counsel, who had opposed the former minister’s bail plea, conceded that he could be allowed to be taken to Jaipur in police custody. The bench also directed that a detailed report of Maderna’s medical test be submitted to the court on September 16 for further directions. Maderna along with 16 other accused of the case, has been under judicial custody since 2011 December and facing trial in a special court for cases under the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act.

The court headed by an additional chief judicial magistrate is conducting the trial in the case since May 2012..