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YouTuber Karthik Gopinath has been granted bail by the Poonamallee Court in Chennai, activist Rangarajan Narasimhan confirmed the news to Lawbeat. Gopinath was arrested on May 30 for allegedly swindling Rs. 34 lakh from the public to renovate temple statues.

The state alleged that Gopinath sent an application to the Hindu Religious & Charitable Endowments department for permission to renovate the statutes with his own funds. However, before receiving approval, Gopinath began collecting funds from the public.

On Tuesday, Gopinath had approached the Madras High Court seeking bail in the case. Justice Satish Kumar, before whom the case was listed, sought the details of Gopinath’s bank accounts and adjourned the matter till June 13. The High Court had also directed the judicial magistrate before whom the case is pending to decide on Gopinath’s bail application by Wednesday.

LawBeat got in touch with Rangarajan Narasimhan,  an activist working closely with Gopinath’s legal team. According to Narasimhan, the Public Prosecutor told the court that there is a flight risk if Gopinath is let off on bail. The PP further told the court that Gopinath needs to be interrogated in custody and should not be granted bail.

The PP argued that the investigation is ongoing and statements of nearly 4000 people have to be recorded. Gopinath’s lawyer meanwhile undertook to surrender his passport to the court if the State is apprehending a flight risk.

The court on hearing the submissions of the parties granted bail to Gopinath. However, the conditions imposed on the bail are not yet known.