By IANS,
Jodhpur: Rajasthan Congress legislator Malkhan Singh Bishnoi was arrested by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) Monday night in connection with the disappearance of nurse Bhanwari Devi, sources said.
The legislator from Luni constituency had appeared before the CBI around 7.15 p.m. and after quizzing him for two hours, the CBI decided to arrest him, the source said.
“He has been arrested for his role in the disappearance of the nurse Sep 1. He will be presented in a court Tuesday,” said sources close to investigators.
The CBI have already arrested fromer minister and legislator Mahipal Maderna, who allegedly featured on a CD in a compromising position with the nurse.
Bishnoi appeared before the CBI for questioning after the agency warned him of arrest for evading interrogation for nine days.
“His son conveyed in the morning that he (the legislator) would come for questioning in the evening. So we waited for him. He arrived at the Circuit House around 7.15 p.m.,”
said sources in the CBI.
The CBI Saturday warned the family members of the lawmaker that if Bishnoi did not make himself available for interrogation, an application requesting an arrest warrant against him would be filed in a court here, sources added.
The legislator is alleged to have been close to the nurse, who is missing since Sep 1 and is feared dead.
“The legislator’s sons and other family members were also quizzed about his relations with the missing nurse Monday,” said the sources.
His brother Parasram Bishnoi was arrested Dec 2 along with Maderna. The CBI also quizzed Maderna’s wife Leela Maderna for about six hours.
The CBI is also trying to trace Bishnoi’s sister Indra Singh Bishnoi. She was also close to the nurse and had earlier claimed that Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot was aware of the CD showing Maderna and the nurse in a compromising position.
In a CBI charge sheet filed before the court earlier, three men – Shahabuddin, Baliya and Sohanlal – were charged with the abduction of the nurse with an intent to kill and criminal conspiracy.
They were also booked under various sections of the Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act.