HC rejects Tiwari bail plea in Sarkar murder case

PATNA: Patna High Court on Monday rejected the bail application of former MLA Rajan Tiwari in the CPI-M legislator Ajit Sarkar murder case, but granted conditional bail to another accused Anil Kumar Yadav. A Division Bench comprising Justices Mridula Mishra and S K Sinha turned down the bail plea of Tiwari, former independent MLA from Govindganj in East Champaran district after Bipin Kumar Sinha, counsel for CBI, argued against it. Sinha argued that it was Tiwari, a known history-sheeter, who had fired to kill Sarkar in 1998. The court, however, allowed bail to Yadav on condition that he would not intimidate witnesses or tamper with evidence in the trial pending against two other accused in the Sarkar murder case -- Harish Chaudhary and Amar Yadav. If CBI found him violating the two conditions, it could move the court for cancellation of the bail. Earlier, pleading for bail to Tiwari and Anil Kumar Yadav, their counsel K P Singh and Anjana Prakash said the former MLA deserved to be granted bail as some of the witnesses had even failed to identify him as the killer and despite it he was lodged in the jail for about nine years. Anil Kumar Yadav was charged with driving the motorcycle in which Tiwari was the pillion rider and yet he was in jail for nearly eight years, they said. Special CBI judge B M Srivastava had on February 14 pronounced Pappu Yadav, controversial RJD MP from Madhepura, Tiwari and Anil Kumar Yadav guilty of killing Sarkar, his driver Harendra Sharma and party worker Ashfaqur Rehman at Subhasnagar in Purnia town on June 14, 1998 and sentenced them to life imprisonment besides a fine of Rs 10,000 each. Sarkar had a feud with Pappu Yadav over issues related to farm labourers.
28 Apr, 2008, 1426 hrs IST, PTI
THE ECONOMIC TIMES