Mahesh Joshi gets 4-day bail as wife passes away

Jaipur: Former PHED minister Mahesh Joshi was granted four-day interim bail from a special PMLA court Monday following his arrest by the Enforcement Directorate in the Jal Jeevan Mission scam. Joshi, who was sent to judicial custody after being presented in court, was granted bail after his wife, Kaushal Devi, died while receiving treatment at a private hospital Monday. ED had taken a four-day custody of Joshi following his arrest Thursday. "He was in 14-day judicial custody and sent to Jaipur Central Jail," a senior ED officer said.

Joshi's counsel, Deepak Chauhan, moved his bail application requesting 14 days' leave on humanitarian grounds after his wife's death, and on grounds that Joshi was cooperating with ED in the investigation. "ED has already completed his interrogation, and he will appear before the agency whenever needed," Chauhan said.

Since ED did not object to the demand for Joshi's bail, the court granted him four days of bail.

Joshi arrived at his Station Road residence in Jaipur around 3pm after which his wife's last rites were performed. Kaushal Devi had been battling kidney disorder for an extended period.

Senior Congress functionaries, including former CM Ashok Gehlot visited Joshi's residence to condole Kaushal Devi's passing.

The PMLA case relating to the Jal Jeevan Mission scam has alleged that numerous private companies and contractors secured tenders using fraudulent certificates and bribed officials and Joshi. Previous arrests in this case included Piyush Jain, Padam Chand Jain, Mahesh Mittal, and Sanjay Badaya, all of them are out on bail.