The junior doctor was raped and murdered, and her body was found in the seminar room of the hospital in Kolkata on the morning of August 9.
The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), which took over the probe on the directions of the Calcutta High Court, arrested Ghosh and Mondal on September 14 for alleged tampering of evidence, and delay in filing the FIR.
Earlier, the central probe agency had taken in its custody the prime accused in the rape-murder case Sanjay Roy, a civic volunteer. The CBI has already submitted its chargesheet against Roy. Granting bail to Ghosh and Mondal on furnishing bail bonds of Rs 2,000 each, the additional chief judicial magistrate (ACJM) on Friday directed them to cooperate with the ongoing probe.
Mondal, the former OC of Tala police station, is all set to walk out of the jail. Ghosh, on the other hand, is likely to stay in prison as he is on judicial remand in another case of alleged financial irregularities at the hospital.
Earlier in the day, Ghosh and Mondal were produced before the court of ACJM Arijit Mondal under heavy police security. During the hearing, lawyers for the two accused urged the judge that their clients be granted bail, as the CBI could not submit chargesheet against them within the statutory period of 90 days.
“My client has suffered for more than 90 days. May he be released,” the suspended cop’s lawyer, Mohd Zakir, told the ACJM.
The CBI’s counsel said that it left the decision on the court whether to grant bail to them, adding that the central probe agency is not filing chargesheet in the case.
The Investigating Officer, who was present in the court, said that its probe is underway. “The investigation is in process, but we are not filing chargesheet,” he said. After hearing both sides, the court in its order said: “In this case no chargesheet has been filed against the accused — Abhijit Mondal and Sandip Ghosh — till today, and today is the 90th day of them being in custody. Hence, the accused persons are directed to find a bail bond of `2,000 each. Both the accused are directed to assist the prosecuting agency as and when they are called on, for the purpose of investigation by the CBI and to appear before the court on the next date henceforth,” the court said.
Previously, the CBI had submitted before the ACJM court in Sealdah, they have telephonic evidence of Sandip Ghosh and former OC of Tala police station of being involved in hushing up the crime and downplay of the rape and murder case of a woman doctor.
“There are a number of recorded incriminating calls, as well as videos, in the extracted data from the cellphones of both (Mondal and Ghosh),” the CBI had said.