Jharkhand MLAs granted conditional bail by Calcutta HC

The Calcutta High Court on Wednesday granted interim bail to three Jharkhand MLAs who were arrested with ₹49 lakh cash in West Bengal’s Howrah district. A division bench comprising Justices Joymalya Bagchi and Ananya Bandopadhyay granted interim bail to the MLAs for three months. The Court directed the MLAs not to leave the Kolkata Municipal area in the period.

Three former Congress MLAs, Irfan Ansari, Rajesh Kachchap and Naman Bixal Kongari were arrested by the West Bengal police on July 30 with the cash on a national highway. The Criminal Investigation Department  (CID) of West Bengal Police started an investigation in the case and conducted searches in Kolkata and Jamtara in Jhrakhand and seized more cash in connection with the case. The MLAs were expelled by the Congress party which alleged that there was an attempt by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) to topple the government in Jharkhand. The Congress is part of Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM)-led government in Jharkhand.

The CID teams had also visited Delhi and Guwahati in connection with the investigation and its officials alleged obstructions in conducting the probe at both the places. They had also found links with businessmen from Kolkata and Guwahati who allegedly provided cash to the MLAs. The MLAs had approached Calcutta High Court seeking a stay on the CID probe and prayed that the case be passed to central investigating agencies. The High Court rejected their prayer on August 4.