THE GOAN NETWORK
PANAJI
The Bombay High Court at Goa on Tuesday granted conditional bail to Akhilesh Kumar Sahani, the third accused in the August 2023 murder case citing insufficient material evidence directly linking him to the crime.
The case revolves around the unidentified body found floating in a river near the Gaundalim bridge. During the investigation, it was revealed that the deceased Chandriraka Sahani (32) from Mirzapur (Uttar Pradesh) had been assaulted, tied to an iron frame and thrown into the river.
The Old Goa police had arrested the three accused brothers, Rajkumar Prasad, Rajendra Prasad (prime accused), Ranjit Prasad as well as Akhilesh Kumar, brother-in-law of the elder brother, who allegedly helped in disposing of the body.
The Bench of Justice Bharat Deshpande observed that while the investigation is complete and a chargesheet has been filed, the evidence against him remains largely circumstantial.
“From the chargesheet, it is clear that the material collected by the investigating agency is on the basis of circumstantial evidence… The material which is collected against Akhilesh, as on date, though shows some suspicion, there is no evidence to show their direct involvement in the said offense. In a case of conspiracy, the material connecting the link is required to be collected during the investigation. In case the link is broken, there is always a possibility of the benefit of doubt,” it stated.
Earlier during the hearing, Akhilesh submitted that the entire material collected during the investigation was not directed at him.
On the other hand, the prosecution argued that the crime was a result of a well-planned conspiracy, asserting that the third accused was present at the scene and involved in the crime.
However, the Bench observed that the evidence against Akhilesh was not compelling enough to warrant continued custody, especially since the investigation had already concluded while granting Akhilesh conditional bail.
“Thus, except the call details, there is no other substantial and direct evidence involving the Applicant in the present matter as prima facie could be seen. Since the investigation is over, the aspect of bail could be considered, however, subject to stringent conditions,” it said.
