GUWAHATI: The prime accused in the high profile
Shweta Agarwal murder Case, Govind
Singhal, was granted bail on Thursday by Gauhati high court. Singhal, accused of slitting the victim before trying to set her body on fire, was directed to extend total cooperation in the trial.
Advocate JI Borbhuiya, counsel of Singhal, said, "He has been behind bars since the investigation started. Moreover, two other accused in the case have already been granted bail. We argued that since the allegations are very serious, he should be given a chance to reach out to lawyers. And being in jail, he can't."
The two other accused-his mother and sister-who were charged with aiding and abetting the crime, were already out on bail. The counsel added that the court has ordered him to cooperate with the trial and police.
The city's
Bharalumukh police station had earlier, while filing the chargesheet, had accused Singhal of first degree murder. The police, however, had ruled out any instance of sexual violence after thorough forensic tests and post-mortem reports.
The investigation said Singhal slit Shweta's throat following a heated argument between the couple. "Govind then allegedly tried to dump her body in a gunny bag but when the plan failed, he, with the help of his mother and sister, torched Shweta's body inside the bathroom," the chargesheet said.
The incident came to light when locals in the area noticed smoke billowing out of Singhal's house and alerted the police.
In the chargesheet, the police added that the trio tried to project the cold blooded murder as a suicide.
Shweta was carrying her mobile phone at the time of the incident but it has still not been found.
The murder of Shweta-who was the state topper in her 12th grade in the commerce stream in 2015 and a 5th semester B Com student in KC Das Commerce College here- had triggered a huge public outcry in December last year.
Representative Image