Even as the political slugfest over the Baba Farid University of Health Sciences (BFUHS) Pharmacy Officer recruitment exam leak dominated proceedings in the Punjab Vidhan Sabha, 16 accused arrested in the case walked out of jail on Saturday after a local court granted them regular bail. Opposition parties staged protest dharnas outside the university gates, and are likely to intensify their agitation following the release.The accused had been in custody since their arrest after the case was registered on July 20 at the Cyber Crime police station here.The court of the Additional Chief Judicial Magistrate (ACJM), Faridkot, granted bail to 16 accused a day earlier, holding that their continued custodial detention was not necessary. The accused were booked under Sections 318(4), 61(2) and 112 of the BNS and Section 66-D of the Information Technology Act for the alleged use of Bluetooth receivers and miniature earpieces by candidates to cheat during the Pharmacy Officer examination conducted by BFUHS on July 19 at centres in Faridkot, Ferozepur and Kotkapura.Counsels for several of the accused argued that their clients’ names did not feature in the original FIR and that they were subsequently implicated through a General Diary entry recorded a day after the scam came to light, with no incriminating material seized from them. In the case of other accused, the defence contended there was nothing left to recover, as the electronic devices in question had already been seized.The court observed that the seriousness of the allegations alone could not justify continued detention where custodial interrogation was not shown to be indispensable. It noted that the evidence — CCTV footage, attendance records, and electronic devices — was primarily documentary and electronic in nature, and could be collected without further custodial questioning. It further noted there was no demonstrated apprehension that the accused could tamper with such evidence.Taking into account the period already undergone in custody since July 20, the absence of recovery from many of the accused, and their having fixed places of abode, the court allowed the bail applications.The release of the accused is likely to sharpen the opposition’s attack on the state government, with parties expected to use the timing to intensify their protest outside BFUHS and renew demands for accountability.