Kotkhai: 5 accused withdraw bail plea

Neha Sharma | TNN | Updated: May 5, 2020, 10:24 IST

Representative image

CHANDIGARH: Five accused in the Kotkhai custodial death case on Monday withdrew their bail applications, after the court pointed to lack of solid grounds for seeking bail in their applications.
The bail applications were filed by the accused on March 30, but it took more than a month to come up for hearing in the special court CBI. Earlier, the investigating agency was issued a notice after the applications were moved.
During the resumed hearing on Monday via video-conferencing, with the accused appearing from the Burail jail premises, the court observed that the outbreak of Covid-19 as reason for seeking bail could not be considered at this stage. Also, if their cases had been fit to be considered for release to decongest the jail, that would have happed much earlier, the court observed.
The five accused, who had moved the bail applications, are Kotkhai SHO Rajinder Singh, the investigating officer in the rape and murder case, head constables Surat Singh, Mohan Lal and Rafiq Ali, and constable Ranjit Streta.
The same court had on Saturday dismissed the interim bail application moved by suspended IGP Zahur Zaidi, another accused in the case.