Father accused of murdering stepdaughters gets bail due to delay in trial, was in custody for 11 years
The Calcutta High Court has granted interim bail to a
man after more than 11 years. The man is accused of murdering his two minor
stepdaughters. The man has been released due to delay in completion of the trial
The young girls were killed
The incident dates back to January 2012. At that time,
the bodies of two girls aged nine and 15 were found from the city's Dhakuria
and Park Circus railway stations for two consecutive days. A complaint was
lodged in the Lake Police Station. Later, the Kolkata Police arrested Ishtiaq
Ahmed in 2013 for murder.
In custody for 11 years
The wife worked in another state and both the
stepdaughters lived with Ahmed. Approaching the High Court, Ahmed's lawyer
prayed for his bail due to delay in the trial. Told the court that Ishtiaq has
been in custody for more than 11 years.
Two witnesses yet to be examined
The state government counsel had told the court on May
7 that the remaining prosecution witnesses would be examined within a month.
Noting that two prosecution witnesses were still to be examined and the
petitioner had been in custody for more than 11 years and 7 months, a division
bench headed by Justice Arijit Banerjee on September 24 said it was not certain
when the trial would actually end. The bench also comprised Justice Apurba
Sinha Ray.
Bail on a bond of Rs 10,000
The bench ordered that on the ground of delay in the
case, we grant interim bail to the petitioner. The court directed that Ishtiaq
Ahmed alias Ishtiaq SK be released on interim bail on a bond of Rs 10,000 each
with two sureties of the same amount, one of whom should be a local.
The court said that the accused shall not leave the
jurisdiction of Lake police station in Kolkata and shall report to the officer
in charge of the police station twice a week till further orders. Ahmed is
directed to appear before the trial court on every date of hearing till further
orders and not to threaten witnesses or tamper with evidence in any manner.
Directing that the interim bail shall continue till the end of November 2024 or till further orders. The bench said that the matter will be heard again on November 20.
