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Allahabad High Court grants bail to woman accused in student murder

The Allahabad High Court has granted bail to a woman accused of kidnapping a student, extorting ransom and then murdering him.

A single-judge bench of Justice Ajay Bhanot passed this order while hearing a Criminal Misc Bail Application filed by Rachita Vats.

By means of the bail application, the applicant has prayed to be enlarged on bail in case at Police Station Raipurva, District Kanpur Nagar under Sections 364 A, 302, 201, 34 IPC. The applicant has been in jail since 31.10.2023.

The bail application of the applicant was rejected by the trial court on 09.04.2024.

The prosecution case as stated in the FIR is that the deceased had left his house at 4 pm for coaching. At 7.30 pm, his mother called the deceased to find that his mobile was switched off. She informed her family members of the same and the latter went out in search of the missing person but to no avail. Thereafter, the mother of the deceased informed the family members that a ransom letter had been received.

The first informant suspected that the applicant, who was a home tutor, and her boyfriend Prabhat Shukla and others were responsible for the abduction of the deceased. The body of the deceased was recovered at the pointing out of the principal offender Prabhat Shukla.

As per the recovery memo/arrest memo dated 31.10.2023, the body was recovered at the pointing out of the principal offender Prabhat Shukla.

The video footage of the area shows that the deceased had entered the Bhandariya where the incident took place with Prabhat Shukla. There is a house which is adjacent to the said Bhandariya. However the case diary in which the site plant has been drawn up does not depict any internal passage between the house and the Bhandariya.

The CCTV footage of the area depicts that the applicant had entered the house but does not record the applicant’s entry into the Bhandariya at any point in time. The applicant had left the house at 18.03 hrs.

The deceased was present in Bhandariya with the principal offender from 18.03 hrs till the latter left the premises at 18.20 hrs.

The scooty on which the person who delivered the ransom letter belongs to Prabhat Shukla. The applicant has been using it from time to time but the ownership and possession of the said scooty is with Prabhat Shukla. The applicant had no motive to commit the offence.

The role of the applicant is distinguishable from the principal offender Prabhat Shukla.The applicant does not have any criminal history apart from this case.

The applicant is not a flight risk. The applicant being a law abiding citizen has always cooperated with the investigation and undertakes to cooperate with the court proceedings. There is no possibility of his influencing witnesses, tampering with the evidence or reoffending.

In the light of the preceding discussion and without making any observations on the merits of the case, the Court allowed the bail application.

The Court ordered,

Let the applicant Rachita Vats be released on bail in the aforesaid case crime number, on furnishing a personal bond and two sureties each in the like amount to the satisfaction of the court below. The following conditions be imposed in the interest of justice:-

(i) The applicant will not tamper with the evidence or influence any witness during the trial.

(ii) The applicant will appear before the trial court on the date fixed, unless personal presence is exempted.

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