A Jadavpur University student arrested on March 12 for allegedly setting fire to the office of a non-teaching employees’ union on the campus and later named in a case involving objectionable graffiti got interim bail from the Alipore court on Tuesday.
The additional chief judicial magistrate granted interim bail to Soumyadeep Mahanto against bonds of ₹5,000 for each case, a court official said.
The bail has been granted till July 30.
The court said Soumya-deep, an undergraduate student of philosophy, has to appear daily before the investigating officer of Jadavpur police station till July 30, the day the case will be heard again.
The alleged arson happened the day education minister Bratya Basu came to JU on March 1 and was heckled by students a section of Left and ultra-Left supporters.
Basu had come to JU to attend the annual general meeting of the West Bengal College and University Professors’ Association (WBCUPA), the Trinamul-backed teachers’ body, when he faced protesters demanding campus elections, which had been stalled for five years.
Supreo Rakshit, the lawyer who represented Soumyadeep, said the magistrate granted him bail in the case of alleged arson in the afternoon.
“But during the hearing, we came to know that the police have tagged him in a case that deals with writing ‘Azad Kashmir’ graffiti on the walls of the campus. The magistrate kept its judgment on reserve in the second case. Around 7pm, interim bail was granted in the second case as well,” Rakshit said.
Kolkata Police on March 10 started a suo motu case against unknown supporters of the Progressive Democratic Students Federation (PDSF) after “Azad Kashmir” graffiti emerged under the outfit’s banner on the walls Technology Bhavan.
The police have drawn up a case under Section 152 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanghita that criminalises any act that attempts to excite secession, armed rebellion and subversive activities.
Sourin Ghosal, chief public prosecutor, said the court had granted the prayer by the defence lawyers of the student citing an examination.
An officer of the Jadavpur police station said: “We have prima facie evidence about his involvement in the graffiti case. Therefore we sought his further custody. But the court granted him conditional bail in both cases.”