JAMMU: Punjab and Haryana High Court has granted bail to Anand Dutta, who was convicted in gang-rape case of 8-year-old girl in Kathua district.The girl, who hailed from the nomadic Bakarwal community, was gang-raped by a temple priest and others in Rasana village temple premises after being held captive and sedated for nearly four days. The minor victim’s mutilated body was later found in a nearby forest on January 17.A Division Bench of Justice Tejinder Singh Dhindsa and Justice Vinod Bhardwaj suspended the remaining sentence and jail term of Dutta and ordered that he be released upon furnishing surety bonds.”Prayer made in the instant application is accepted and the remaining sentence of the applicant/appellant – Anand Dutta is suspended during the pendency of the appeal. The applicant/appellant- Anand Dutta is ordered to be released on bail on his furnishing personal/surety bonds to the satisfaction of Chief Judicial Magistrate/Duty Magistrate concerned,” the High Court order read.Previously, Dutta who was Sub-Inspector with the J&K Police was an SHO (Station House Officer) at the time of committing the rape crime on the minor. Subsequently, Dutta was convicted for offences under Section 201 (causing disappearance of evidence of an offence or giving false information), Section 34 (common intention) and Section 120-B (criminal conspiracy) of Jammu and Kashmir State Ranbir Penal Code (RPC).Notably, he was awarded 5 years of rigorous imprisonment in the Kathua rape case. The counsel appearing on behalf of the appellant (Dutta) contended that he had been falsely implicated in the case and the charges levelled by the prosecution were not corroborated by any evidence.Further, the counsel pointed out that Dutta has already undergone more than half of the sentence (2 years and 7months and 3 days against 5 years) awarded to him and that the sentence of co-accused Tilak Raj was suspended on December 16, 2021.”There is no instance that the applicant/appellant has either misused the concession of parole so granted or that any untoward incident had taken place during the period of parole so as to corroborate the apprehension raised by the counsel appearing for the State of Jammu and Kashmir,” the High Court noted. (Agencies)
