Chandigarh: The Punjab and Haryana high court has granted bail to 53-year-old key accused Rameshwar Dass, a health inspector in Delhi Municipal Corporation. Justice A B Chaudhari granted bail to Dass, who was arrested in connection with the killing of 15-year-old Junaid Khan.
A resident of Khambi village in Haryana’s Palwal district, the inspector in the petition said that he was not named in the FIR and had been arrested on June 28, 2017, for ulterior reasons. He also said that the sudden fight between boys over a seat, was the cause of Junaid’s death.
“As per the version of FIR, allegations are against some boys who fought with the victim. Accordingly, even as per the FIR version, I was not to be shown to be involved in the said fight as it was stated to be between the victim and 2-3 boys who were travelling in the same coach of the train. Even otherwise, the role attributed to me was similar to the three other accused who have already been granted bail,” the petitioner had argued while seeking bail.
Junaid was killed in June 2017, while he was travelling to his native place. A fight ‘over the seat’ took Junaid’s life, when he was grievously stabbed. The incident also ignited a mob attack on Junaid’s brother and two cousins near Delhi, converting the incident into religious slurs.
Faridabad district court was hearing the trial. On March 19, the Supreme Court had stayed the trial filed by Junaid’s father Jalaluddin who has been now seeking a CBI probe. The Punjab and Haryana high court had declined to hand over the case to the investigating agency. Jalaluddin had appeal, that Junaid’s murder was “motivated by deep-rooted communal hatred against victim’s community.”