Nand Kumar Baghel, the father of Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel, was arrested earlier this week for allegedly uttering offensive statements towards the Brahmin caste and was granted bail by a Raipur court today.
When Nand Kumar Baghel was arrested on Tuesday, he did not request bail, and the court placed him in judicial detention for 15 days. Later, Gajendra Sonkar, his lawyer, filed a bail plea and requested an immediate hearing.
“After hearing arguments, Judicial Magistrate First Class (JMFC) Janak Kumar Hidko granted him bail today,” Mr. Sonkar said.
After spending three days in jail, Nand Kumar Baghel walked out of the prison this evening.
Mr. Baghel was arrested based on a case lodged on September 4 on a complaint filed by the “Sarv Brahmin Samaj”.
Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel had strongly disapproved of the remarks allegedly made by his father and said nobody is above the law.
Nand Kumar Baghel was charged under the Indian Penal Code for “promoting enmity between different groups”.
The complainant alleged that Nand Kumar Baghel had asked people to “boycott” and evict Brahmins. According to the police, the remarks were reportedly made during an event in Uttar Pradesh.
The Chhattisgarh chief minister had said that the remarks hurt the sentiments of a community and that he was “also pained by them”.
