CHANDIGARH: Nearly 10 months after the attack on Ludhiana Tehsildar Maj G.S. Benipal in his office, three prime accused, including two Ludhiana councillors, were granted bail by the Punjab and Haryana High Court on Monday.
The three are Simarjit Singh Bains, councillor and Youth Akali Dal Ludhiana president; Kamaljit Singh Karwal, councillor and former Akali youth leader; and Ravi Sharma.
Karwal had been expelled after the incident.
Maj Benipal was assaulted in his office in June last year. According to the allegations, he was dragged out of his office, stripped arid attacked, resulting in injuries.
Subsequently, the police had registered a case against several persons under various pro visions of IPC. Later, Bains, Karwal and Ravi Sharma had surrendered. After a Ludhiana court rejected their pleas for bail twice, they had moved the High Court.
During arguments on the bail, the counsel of the three, Baldev Singh, held that his clients had been falsely implicated and even the injuries allegedly suffered by Benipal during the attack were found tie be old.
The State counsel and Benipal, who himself was present in the court, strongly opposed the bail application.
After hearing the arguments of both sides, Justice Nirmaljit Kaur issued directions for their release on bail.
SOURCE-HT
