Rahul Mahajan gets bail

New Delhi, June 14 (UNI) A Delhi court today granted bail to late BJP leader Pramod Mahajan's son Rahul in the drugs abuse case which rocked the Mahajan family and the BJP earlier this month.

The court of Special Judge Swarnakanta Mehra, dealing with the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act cases, granted bail to Rahul as the police failed to prove its charge that he was guilty of the non-bailable offence of financing drug trafficking and harbouring drug dealers.

The prosecution could not also satisfy the court about the amount of drugs that were recovered from Rahul.

While granting him bail, she asked him to furnish a personal bond of Rs two lakh and a surety of the like amount. Rahul was asked not to contact any witness or try to tamper with evidence in the case.

He was also asked not to leave Delhi without the court's permission until a chargesheet was filed in the case. Rahul would have to surrender his passport by tomorrow.

The police application for permission to conduct a narco-analysis test and brain mapping of Rahul would come up for hearing before the court tomorrow.

The bail application of another accused in the case, Sahil Zaroo, would also come up for hearing tomorrow.

Rahul had fallen seriously ill and his father's private secretary Bibek Moitra had died after a late night party at the 7, Safdarjang Road residence on June 2.

Following questioning of domestic servants, four others present at the party, evidence gathered from the spot, medical and forensic reports and Rahul's interrogation, police arrested him on June 5, charging him under Sections 21, 25, 27 and 29 of the NDPS Act.

He was sent to Tihar three days later on judicial custody till June 22.

In another development, three Nigerian drug peddlers arrested in the case were remanded to judicial custody till June 22 on expiry of their police remand period today.

Meanwhile, the court of Additional Chief Metropolitan Magistrate Kamini Lau asked police to file by July 7, a status report on its investigation into the case registered against the management and doctors of Apollo Hospital where Rahul was taken on the night of June 2. She said no one from the hospital could be arrested without the court's consent.

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