GTA member Prabha Chettri, who had been
arrested on August 18 this year, has been granted bail by the Kurseong
Additional District & Sessions judge and will be released on Friday.
The GTA member from the Mahanadi-Tindharay constituency under Kurseong sub-division had been detained on various charges.
Talking to reporters in the afternoon,
Chettri’s lawyers Ashok Sharma, Rajen Thapa and HW Lama said their
client had been arrested on charges such as blocking of NH55, disturbing
police work, attacking with sharp weapons and arson, among others.
Chettri had already obtained bail on all
cases except on the arson one (GR 197/2013, 436 IPC) and the matter was
heard today by Judge Tarak Nath Bhagat who subsequently approved her
bail upon a payment of Rs3,000 as surety.
The defence counsel said that on June
19, the shop cum house of TMC activist Surat Rai in Latpunchar was
torched reportedly under the directive of Chettri. They further informed
the bail was granted on the ground of Chettri being a woman with a
family to look after. Moreover, no FIR has been filed against her in the
arson incident. The counsel trio also noted Chettri’s husband is 65 per
cent physically handicapped with no one to take care of him.
Public prosecutor IK Sharma said as Chettri has a disabled husband, there was no opposition to her bail application.
Nine more GTA sabha members, arrested
under various charges during the latest phase of the statehood agitation
this August, are yet to be released. They include Binay Tamang,
Mahendra Pradhan, Arun Singchi, Kalyan Dewan, Nima Tamang, Yogendra Rai,
Anosh Thapa, Pranay Thapa and Anit Thapa.(EOI)