Chandigarh: The main accused in Junaid Lynching- Rameshwar Dass was granted bail on Wednesday by the Punjab and Haryana High Court leaving only one accused lodged in jail in Junaid’s case.
The trial court proceedings in Faridabad were halted after Junaid’ family filed a petition in Supreme Court seeking CBI probe into Junaid’s murder that took place last year in June on Mathura-bound train. Junaid was stabbed to death by the mob while his own brother and two cousins of Junaid all were brutally beaten up.
Justice A B Chaudari allowing main accused Dass’s bail plea granted him bail on Wednesday after the High Court has been dismissing his bail plea for the past five months.
Counsel for Dass, Senior Advocate Bipan Ghai, pleaded in the High Court that the trial court has “erred” in framing charges against Dass and it was “only a sudden fight over seat sharing”.
Das was given the liberty to file a regular bail plea after five months by the High Court which the Court, in its order, observed, “There is every likelihood of prosecution witnesses being put in jeopardy” and directed the Sessions court to complete the trial proceedings within five months.
The Trial Court on 11 October had framed charges under sections 298, 323, 341, 307, 302 read with Section 34 of the IPC and 145 of the Railway Act, against him for abusing the victims, using communal slurs during the fight. Dass was taken into custody last year on June 28.
Other than the Prime accused Dass six other people were arrested in Junaid’s lynching — Naresh Kumar, Ramesh Kumar, Rameshwar Dass, Pradeep Kumar, Chander Prakash and Gaurav Sharma. Now only Naresh Kumar is lodged in the prison while all other accused in the murder case have been acquitted.
Seeking CBI probe, Junaid’s father Jalaluddin, in his plea in Supreme Court alleged the investigation has been “subverted in a calculated manner” by the Haryana Police in order to help the main accused Dass Health Inspector to easily get bail.
Naresh Kumar and main accused Dass is a Health Inspector in the Municipal Corporation of Delhi,were traveling in the same coach as Junaid’s. These two allegedly got into the fight with Junaid and his brothers on board stabbing the 15-year-old Junaid to death.