A court in the United Arab Emirates on Thursday released Thushar Vellappally, who unsuccessfully contested against Rahul Gandhi in Wayanad, on bail after the Dubai police arrested him in a cheque fraud case. However, it was not immediately clear whether he could leave the country.
He is the vice-president of the Sree Narayana Dharma Paripalana Yogam (SNDP) and son of its general secretary, Vellapally Natesan.
He also heads the Bharathiya Dharma Jana Sena (BDJS), an ally of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and is the convener of the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) in Kerala.
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Reports about Mr. Thushar’s detention in Ajman grabbed public attention in Kerala and also prompted Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan to seek the “personal attention and intervention” of Union Minister of State for External Affairs V. Muralidharan in the matter. Hours later, television visuals emerged of a set of people escorting Mr. Thushar out of a multi-storey building.
Soon, the State police confirmed that the UAE authorities had freed Mr. Thushar reportedly after a Gulf-based business person posted a sizeable amount as bail on his behalf.
Mr. Thushar came into the limelight when he fought under the NDA banner against Mr. Gandhi in the Lok Sabha polls.
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