Chandigarh: The Punjab and Haryana High Court Wednesday issued a notice to the CBI on former J&K Police DSP Mohammad Ashraf Mir’s application seeking interim bail on medical grounds in the 2006 Srinagar sex scandal case, reported Indian Express. Mir’s application mentions that he is at a high risk of infection during the current pandemic and should be granted bail as per recommendations of a Supreme Court panel.
The trial of the case in which Mir is convicted had taken place in Chandigarh and he was sentenced to 10 years imprisonment for rape in May 2018.
A single bench of the HC Wednesday adjourned the hearing of Mir’s bail application to July 2 to allow the CBI to file a reply in the case.
According to the newspaper, Describing himself as a “highly decorated police official” of the J&K Police who had been involved in “eradicating terror groups from the disturbed state”, the 64-year-old Mir in the application said he has been suffering from hypertension and chronic diabetes.
The application added that he is prone to infection under the extraneous circumstances, while citing a “certificate” of Government Super Speciality Hospital Srinagar, which states that Mir is strictly advised to undertake all precautions under prevailing circumstances.
Submitting that the High Powered Committee — which has been constituted on orders of the Supreme Court to decongest jails to prevent spread of coronavirus, has recommended that all the prisoners who are suffering from chronic diabetes be released on interim bail for six weeks, Mir has prayed before the court that he also be released on interim bail during the pendency of his appeal in the High Court. Mir’s appeal against the conviction is pending before the HC since 2018.
“Earlier the applicant had undergone a surgery for his spinal cord and had got operated with 2 steel rods implanted in his spine. He is suffering from various ailments including chronic diabetes and hypertension. The applicant is highly prone to infection being more than 60 years of age,” reads the application further.
The 2006 sex scandal that allegedly involved the rich and powerful of valley had been exposed after the residents of a locality in Srinagar had approached police with a video that showed the victim nude. The Jammu and Kashmir High Court transferred the probe to CBI from the J&K Police after a hue and cry over the alleged sex racket. A number of influential people including two ministers, top police officers and others were accused in the case. Following a protracted trial in Chandigarh, five accused including a former BSF DIG were convicted in the case in 2018.
Discussion about this post