Bihar toppers' scam accused, wife denied interim bail plea

Patna: A special vigilance court in Patna on Tuesday dismissed the interim bail pleas of Bihar School Examination Board (BSEB) former chairman Lalkeshwar Prasad Singh and his wife Usha Sinha, police said. [caption id=“attachment_2827898” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  File photo of Bihar police. Reuters[/caption] The court dismissed their pleas on the ground that granting them interim bail will hamper ongoing investigations by the Bihar Police SIT. A Special Investigation Team (SIT) on Monday arrested the couple from Varanasi in connection with the Class 12 toppers’ scam. Earlier, the SIT brought the duo for presenting them in court amid tight security. Scores of people had gathered in the court premises to catch a glimpse of the couple, who had their faces covered. Last week, a Patna civil court issued an arrest warrant against Lalkeshwar Prasad, who until recently headed the BSEB which conducts the Class 10 and 12 examinations. Prasad went underground after resigning when the scam surfaced. A television channel broadcast a sting in which two Class 12 toppers could not answer even elementary questions about the subjects they had ’topped’ in. Usha Sinha, a former Janata Dal-United legislator in Bihar, was also missing since her name surfaced in the scam. So far, 10 persons have been arrested in the case.