Balwant Garg

Tribune News Service

Faridkot, August 3

The court of Judicial Magistrate Ist Class (JMIC) Faridkot on Tuesday ordered to release to two followers of Sacha Sauda Dera and accused in sacrilege cases on bail.

Both accused, Nishan Singh and Pardeep Kumar, were in the jail since May 16 after they were arrested by the new Special Investigation Team (SIT), constituted by the state government to probe the sacrilege and police firing cases early this year.

While granting the bail to the accused, the court observed that the accused had remained in custody for sufficient long period of time. Moreover, the offences for which the accused were arrested carry the maximum imprisonment up to 5 years.

As the accused have already remained in custody for considerable period and there is no point in keeping the accused behind the bars till the conclusion of the trial, the court observed. Moreover, challan in the present FIR has been filed in the court. In view of the existing situation due to Covid-19 pandemic, the trial of the case is not going to conclude anytime soon. In view of the above discussion, the accused are allowed to be released on bail, the court observed in its order.

Earlier the accused were declined bail by the court on June 21 on the ground of that the investigation of this case as well as other case was to be completed and the accused were required in respect of the investigation in the other connected case.

While granting bail to the accused, the court observed today that the challan was already been presented in the Court and investigation was completed qua the accused. So far as the question of pendency of investigation in another case is concerned, accused were already on bail in that case. Court was of the view that the accused cannot be kept behind the bars in one FIR for the sake of investigation in another FIR in which they are already on bail.

The accused claimed that they were not named in the FIR with regard to the alleged commission of crime. They were nominated as accused on May 15, 2021, about six year after the sacrilege incident, by SIT simply on the basis of alleged disclosure statement made by one Mahinderpal alias Bittu (since deceased) in the custody of the police in a case in June 2018.

Apart from the disclosure statement of Mahinderpal alias Bittu there was no other evidence against the accused to connect them with the crime and CBI has already given them a clean chit in these cases, they claimed.