Mahipal Maderna was a prominent leader from the Congress party, hailing from the influential Maderna family of Osian. He had served as a Minister of Rural Development and later as the Minister of Water Resources in the Gehlot cabinet. Representing a Dalit constituency, Maderna was seen as a rising political star known for his accessibility—a trait that would ultimately become his undoing.

On November 20, 2011, the CBI arrested Mahipal Maderna from a resort in Manesar, Haryana. He was the first sitting Rajasthan minister to be arrested in a murder case.

His defense was consistent: "The video is fabricated. I have been framed." His lawyer argued that the "top scandal video" was morphed using AI (a rare argument in 2011) and that political rivals within the Congress party had orchestrated the plot to destroy him.

However, the CBI had a star witness: Malkhan Singh, the alleged shooter, who turned approver. He gave a detailed confession, recorded under Section 164 of the CrPC, naming Maderna as the mastermind. He also described how Balia paid him ₹10 lakh after the murder.

The Bhanwari Devi murder case changed several things in Rajasthan politics: