Court rejects interim bail plea of IAS officer arrested in TET scam case

After he tested positive for the infection, his lawyer Amol Dange had filed for interim bail on Monday, citing his Covid-positive status.

After the defence moved for Khodwekar’s bail, the say of the prosecution was sought by the court. Public Prosecutor Vijaysinh Jadhav opposed the bail, saying that Khodwekar was receiving proper treatment.

Dange told The Indian Express that the court rejected the interim bail plea on Wednesday and Khodwekar will remain in judicial custody. Earlier, the prosecution itself had prayed that Khodwekar be remanded to judicial custody because of his Covid status and had reserved the right to seek his police custody at a later stage.

Investigators have said that Khodwekar was in contact with suspects arrested earlier in the case. In his remand application to court filed earlier, police have said that Khodwekar went out of his way to appoint Tukaram Supe — now arrested in connection with the TET scam — as commissioner of Maharashtra State Council of Examinations in spite of his tainted record.

It is also alleged that Khodwekar instructed Supe to remove the name of GA Software company from the list of blacklisted companies. The probe has, till now, seen arrests of many employees of the company.

Over the last three weeks, many officers probing the slew of malpractices in government exams have tested positive, so have some of the suspects arrested in the case.