Bhubaneswar: In a day of contrasting judgements, SUM Hospital owner Manoj Nayak was granted bail on surety of `1 lakh, while self-styled godman Sarathi alias Santosh Roul who was arrested in connection with a case of cheating and harassment was denied bail.
Nayak was Friday granted conditional bail by the court in the case pertaining to the October 17 fire tragedy that claimed the lives of 29 people with one person succumbing to injuries Friday at a hospital in the capital.
The court of the additional district judge-2 also granted conditional bail to hospital superintendent Pusparaj Samantasinghar. The bail to Nayak and Pusparaj was granted on surety of `1 lakh and two guarantors each.
The court has asked the two to present themselves at the police station when called for questioning and cooperate with officers probing the tragedy.
The court had reserved its verdict after the hearing on Nayak’s bail plea ended Thursday. The defence lawyer had said Nayak was just the founder of the hospital and had no role in its running.
The institute was running according to the guidelines of the University Grants Commission and the management was looking after the day-to-day affairs of the institute.
Commissionerate police had Thursday asked Manoj Nayak’s wife Saswati Das, his sister Arati Ranjana Nayak and two other trustees of Siksha O Anusandhan charitable trust and asked them to appear before it within a week.
However, Orissa High Court Friday rejected the bail plea of Sarathi, who was arrested after a woman and her mother in Kendrapara district had alleged that Sarathi duped them of `1 lakh and ornaments. The godman reportedly harassed the woman when she protested. The crime branch had registered a case against Sarathi as per complaint lodged by the victim. Kendrapara district sessions judge had rejected the bail plea of the godman.
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