Srinagar:A trial court in Srinagar on Monday granted bail to one accused in the lynching case of Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP) Muhammad Ayub Pandit. Pandit was killed on June 22, 2017 in Nowhatta, Srinagar.
After hearing the prosecution and defense counsel, the Additional Sessions Judge TADA/POTA Srinagar, Manjit Singh Manhas, granted bail to the accused Moin Ahmed Matoo. In its order written to the Kot Bhalwal Jammu administration, the court said that the accused has been granted bail on presentation of a bail bond of Rs 200,000. "You (Kot Bhalwal Jammu Administration) are directed to release the accused (Moin Ahmed Matoo) from custody after obtaining personal bond if he is not involved in any other case or crime. "
The court further said that the accused would not directly or indirectly affect the witnesses or the prosecution and would not tamper with the evidence of the prosecution. He would not leave Jammu and Kashmir without the prior permission of the court and will not change his residence, it directed. Pandit was lynched to death in the Nowhatta area of downtown Srinagar on the occasion of Shab-e-Qadr towards the end of the holy month of Ramzan in 2017.
A case has been registered against 21 persons including four minors in the case. Police filed a charge sheet against 17 accused in the Srinagar court on October 7, 2017. Separate challans have also been filed against four minors in the case. The prosecution has recorded statements of 84 witnesses in the case.
