HC seeks reply of MP govt on delay in release of Vyapam whistleblower

HC seeks reply of MP govt on delay in release of Vyapam whistleblower

‘What Am I — Revolutionary Or Criminal?’ Asks Ashish Chaturvedi

TIMES NEWS NETWORK

Bhopal:11.02.2021 

The Madhya Pradesh high court has issued notices to the state government and DG (prisons), seeking their explanation on a PIL filed by Vyapam whistleblower Ashish Chaturvedi, alleging that he was kept under detention for 18 hours despite bail.

“I was fighting for a cause and the arrest has led to a blot on my image. I won’t get a government job. Let the government declare if I am a revolutionary or a criminal,” Chaturvedi says in the PIL.

Chaturvedi was sent to jail on August 9, 2018, by a special court in Gwalior after he failed to heed repeated summons to record his statement in connection with a complaint he had filed on one of the alleged kingpins of the Vyapam case, Rahul Yadav. Police executed a non-bailable warrant to produce him in court.

During the hearing, Chaturvedi appeared without his lawyer. When he was asked to record his statement, he refused. He was warned that he would be arrested and let off only if he paid a surety of Rs 200. But Chaturvedi refused to budge and was sentenced to jail for 15 days.

“On very same day, the fine of Rs 200 was deposited (by someone on his behalf) and the fourth additional sessions judge, Vyapam, Gwalior, ordered his release. Even after issuance of release warrant, Chaturvedi was kept in custody in Gwalior Central Jail from the evening of August 9, 2018, till 8am on August 10, 2018. This illegal custody is highly objectionable, and deserves cognizance against the responsible officers,” says the petition.

An anguished Chaturvedi said, “I was jailed in the same prison that houses Vyapam accused. My detention, despite the release warrant, was illegal, arbitrary and unlawful.”

In a PIL filed before Madhya Pradesh HC, Ashish Chaturvedi alleged that he was kept under detention for 18 hours despite bail