HC bins pre-arrest bail plea of ex-min

Cuttack: Orissa high court on Friday declined to grant pre-arrest bail to former BJD minister Raghunandan Das in connection with a case registered against him by a woman journalist who alleged he had let loose his dog at her when she had gone to his official residence in Bhubaneswar on June 26.
However, the HC told the minister to surrender before the court of subdivisional judicial magistrate (SDJM), Bhubaneswar, within four weeks to get regular bail.The former information & public relations minister had filed an anticipatory bail petition in connection with the case pending against him for alleged offences punishable under sections 354 (assault or criminal force to woman with intent to outrage her modesty), 323 (voluntarily causing hurt), 294 (utterance of obscene words) and 506 (criminal intimidation) of the IPC on the basis of a complaint lodged by the woman in Capital police station.TNN