Haryana: CBI court grants bail to Jat violence case accused

PANCHKULA: The special CBI court on Saturday granted bail to an accused in the case pertaining to violence during Jat reservation agitation in Haryana.
The accused Sandeep alias Chotu, a resident of Rohtak, was granted bail by special CBI judge Jagdeep Singh.
Defence counsels SPS Parmar and Abhishek Rana submitted before court that there was no specific allegation against accused and demanded regular bail for Sandeep.
Sandeep along with others were named by CBI in violence and arson at former Haryana finance minister Captain Abhimanyu’s house in Rohtak during February 2016 quota protest.
All-India Jat Aarakshan Sangharsh Samiti (AIJASS) general secretary Ashok Balhara, a close aide of Yashpal Malik, and others have been named in this case by the CBI.
Balhara, who is alleged to have incited the mob to attack Abhimanyu’s house, is an advocate and had served as a law officer during former chief minister hupinder Singh Hooda’s government.
On completion of investigation, first chargesheet against two accused persons was filed in the court of special judicial magistrate, CBI at Panchkula on December 15, 2017, while supplementary chargesheet was filed against 51 accused persons, including Balhara, on June 30 last year by the CBI.
The agency had slapped sections of rioting, sedition and attempt to murder on the accused.
The investigating agency had submitted in the court that accused had attacked and vandalised the house of the Haryana finance minister and set it on fire. They, in pursuance of criminal conspiracy with other co-accused, also made attempt to murder family members of the minister present in the house at the time of attack, CBI had said. An alleged loss of nearly Rs 14 crore was caused during the arson, rioting and dacoity, the CBI had submitted.
The CBI took over the investigation in the case on the request of the Haryana government and consequent orders from the Centre’s department of personnel and training.