Chhattisgarh: CBI court grants bail to journalist Vinod Verma in 'sex tape' extortion case

A special CBI court on Thursday granted bail to journalist Vinod Verma for allegedly extorting a BJP minister over a sex tape.

In November this year, Verma had claimed that he had a sex tape of BJP leader Rajesh Munat, who later said that it was fake. Verma was allegedly blackmailing him, which resulted in his arrest.

The police seized over 300 CDs from Verma's house. The Ghaziabad Police confirmed that the journalist's laptop and pen drive were also taken away. The case was registered against Verma at the Pandri Police Station of Raipur district under sections 384 and 506 of the Indian Penal Code.

The senior journalist, who is also an executive member of the Editors Guild of India, was part of the fact-finding team looking into the intimidation of journalists in Chhattisgarh.

On November 6, a Chhattisgarh court had rejected Verma’s bail plea, saying the arguments put forward could not be discussed during a hearing on bail and that the charges against the journalist were serious.

After the journalist's arrest, the "sex-video", allegedly involving Chhattisgarh's Public Works Department Minister Rajesh Munat, surfaced in Raipur, triggering a political storm with opposition Congress and ruling BJP targeting each other on the issue.

The Chhattisgarh government has recommended a CBI probe into the alleged sex CD row.Munat had told reporters that Verma and the Congress were trying to tarnish his image through the "fake" CD.

Subsequently, the minister had lodged a complaint against Verma and Chhattisgarh Congress chief Bhupesh Baghel at the Civil?Lines police station in Raipur