PANJIM: The Additional Sessions Court, Mapusa, has granted condition bail to Nilesh Atmaran Tupkar, who was arrested in connection with the alleged Rehban Khan murder case.
The Court ordered that Tupkar be released on a personal bond of Rs 50,000 along with two sureties of Rs 25,000 each.
While granting the bail, the Court asked Tupkar not to make inducement, threat or promise to any person acquainted with the facts of the case, not to leave the State without the permission of the court and not to threaten the witnesses and not to interfere with the witnesses.
Arguing the matter on behalf of Tupkar, advocate Vinayak D Porob submitted that there was only one statement of Megha Soni as per the chargesheet filed by the Porvorim police wherein she states the name of applicant. Besides this statement, there was no other statement incriminating the applicant in the present offence.
However, Public Prosecutor R D’Souza submitted that from the chargesheet, it was seen that the murder was pre-planned wherein applicant was also involved.
After hearing the arguments, Additional Sessions Judge Sharmila A Patil said the applicant was entitled for the liberty of bail, however on stringent conditions looking at gravity of the offence.
Rehbar Khan (22), a native of Uttar Pradesh, who was working with a hair-cutting salon at Alto-Porvorim, was found dead near the Audit Bhavan at Savlem, Pilerne on April 16 this year.
The Porvorim police had arrested in all nine persons in connection with the case and barring two, other accused are remanded in judicial custody. The police had also attached a car and two scooters used during the commission of the crime by different accused persons.