The Orissa High Court on Wednesday granted conditional bail to Satyam Raul, 20-year-old adopted son of arrested fake godman Santosh Raul alias Sarathi Baba. Satyam, who heads a trust floated by Sarathi, was arrested by the Crime Branch police in August this year from Mumbai on charges of cheating-related offences and receiving stolen properties.
Justice CR Dash allowed the bail application of Satyam asking him to cooperate with the prosecution, meet the investigating officer once in every fortnight till the end of his trial and not to go outside the State without the permission of the IO, informed Satyam’s counsel Manas Chand. His bail applications were earlier rejected twice by two separate lower courts here.
Having no known sources of income, Satyam had a bank balance of Rs 25 lakh; he had paid around Rs 20 lakh to three of his friends to facilitate his escape outside the State evading arrest after his father was arrested in the first week of August.
Satyam was also booked under Sections 423 and 467 of IPC for making a sale deed of only Rs 55 lakh after purchasing a flat in Bhubaneswar costing Rs 1.15 crore. The under-valuation of property during registration had caused pecuniary loss to the State exchequer, the Crime Branch has alleged.