Kolkata: The lawyer of the arrested security guard, Pinak Banerjee, of the law college appealed for bail on Friday, arguing that if Banerjee was liable as a contractual college guard, then the college principal and vice-principal were equally culpable for this crime.
"I am a victim of circumstances. As a poor man earning Rs 12,000 a month, I have certain boundaries that I cannot cross. I cannot force a college employee to leave. In the written complaint, there is no mention that I was involved nor that I helped anyone. If I am an accused in the incident as an employee, then the other administrators — like the principal and the vice-principal — are equally culpable in this crime," claimed lawyer Dibyendu Bhattacharya on behalf of Banerjee, adding, "at best I can be a good eyewitness to the crime". The accused guard then appealed for bail.
The court, though, rejected the bail application and instead sent him to police custody as pleaded by the police. He will remain in police custody until Tuesday, July 8. On that day, the police custody period for the three main accused in the gang rape will also end. All four individuals will then be presented in court again.
The court decision came after Alipore police court public prosecutor Sourin Ghoshal's submission wherein he claimed: "The guard wilfully abstained from blowing the whistle, thereby facilitating the commission of the offence. If he played the role of the whistleblower, the crime would never have been committed".
Banerjee kept quiet and then left after locking the door. The lock and key have been recovered by police. He saw the inhaler being brought in and still did not think it important to interfere. There is crucial evidence against him. The evidence collection is still to be completed. The accused did not act as an ideal human being, but instead abetted in the crime," claimed Ghoshal.
The lawyer pointed out that the act of omission is equally culpable and not limited to the commission of a crime. "Even if he was afraid at that time, why did he not inform college authorities later? Why did he not go to the police picket barely a few feet away?" asked the lawyer.