Maderna, who was grilled by CBI for two consecutive days but skipped questioning in connection with the case on Saturday citing ill-health, was suspended by Rajasthan Pradesh Congress Committee(RPCC) President Dr Chandrabahn.
Action against Maderna was on the cards with the RPCC contemplating action after a CD purportedly showing him in a compromising position with Bhanwari, an auxilliary nurse, came into public domain. The controversy involving Maderna has hit the Ashok Gehlot government amid calls by opposition BJP for the chief minister's resignation.
Maderna's suspension in an apparent clean up act by Congress came hours after another minister Ramlal Jat resigned in the wake of a media report in which allegations were levelled against him.
The report alleged that Jat, minister of state for forest and environment, had tried to pressurise the Bhilwara district administration to conduct post-mortem on a woman in the middle of the night in September.
Paras Devi, wife of the Bhilwara Dairy chairman Ratanlal Jat, died in mysterious circumstances in a hospital, according to the report in a vernacular dialy.
CBI continued questioning Congress MLA Malkhan Singh and Maderna's wife Lila for the second consecutive day in Jodhpur in connection with the Bhanwari case.
Lila defended her husband claiming he is innocent and that the CD in question "was fabricated".
Maderna, who was asked to come today for the third consecutive day for questioning, failed to turn up and sent a medical certificate to the concerned CBI officials here, agency sources said today. Read more
