Lucknow, March 20 -- MP Rakesh Rathore, and Congress leader who was lodged in the district jail on rape charges, was released on Wednesday morning after spending 48 days in custody. His bail plea was approved on Tuesday, following which the release order reached the jail. Rathore had been in judicial custody since January 30.

The Allahabad High Court had granted him bail on March 11, but the police subsequently invoked Section 69, delaying his release. A fresh bail plea was then filed in the Chief Judicial Magistrate (CJM) Court on March 12, and after arguments on Tuesday, the CJM approved the bail. Jail Superintendent Suresh Kumar Singh confirmed that the release order was received at 6 pm on Tuesday, but as per jail manual regulations, h...