A 18-year-old IIT Bombay student Armaan Khatri in custody for abetting suicide of his batchmate Darshan Solanki, has secured bail from a special court on Saturday.
The special court designated under the SC/ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, has directed that he be released from prison on depositing a provisional cash bond of Rs. 25,000. In time he will have to furnish two persons to stand surety for his presence in trial while he is on bail.It has also prohibited him from leaving the city.
A detailed order is yet to be available. Khatri, in his bail plea, had contended that charges of abetting suicide were not applicable and except for the one isolated incident of threatening with a paper cutter, there is no charge that he verbally insulted, threatened or incited Solanki to take the step. He had also pointed out that Solanki’s parents nor anyone else had complained that Khatri had threatened him.
Cops claim Khatri had threatened Solanki
As per the police, Solanki had made objectionable remarks on a religion which angered Khatri and he threatened him with a paper cutter. The police said frightened by the threat, Solanki was driven to suicide.
The police had strongly opposed his bail application and told the court in its response filed before the court. It said that if released on bail he may intimidate its witnesses and there is also a possibility that he may cause evidence relating to the case to be lost. It had informed the court that after the incident of threatening, a night before Solanki died by suicide, he had run a high fever due to fear due to the threat.
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