Jadavpur varsity alumnus named in attack on Bengal minister's car granted bail

Kolkata, Aug 18 (IANS) Jadavpur University alumnus Hindol Majumdar, who is an accused in the attack on state Education Minister Bratya Basu's car earlier this year, was granted bail by the Court of the Chief Judicial Magistrate in Kolkata's Alipore on Monday.

Hindol was presented in the court after his police custody expired on Monday. His lawyer Gopal Haldar argued in court for bail and said that there was no new development in the case.

He said that his client lives in Spain as he is engaged in a research work there. He does not live in Kolkata and was not in the country when the attack took place. He was arrested after returning to the country recently to meet his parents. The public prosecutor, however, opposed the bail plea.

On March 1, allegations of harassment of state Education Minister Bratya Basu and vandalism of his car were raised at Jadavpur University. Hindol, an alumnus of Jadavpur University, was implicated in the case.

On last Wednesday, police arrested him after he landed in India (Delhi airport) from Spain. He was accused of instigating the attack while living in Spain, about 8,500 kilometers away from Kolkata.

Police claimed that Hindol was the one who planned the attack on the state education minister.

"He created the blueprint for the attack through WhatsApp with the students of Jadavpur University," a Kolkata Police official claimed.

In the court on Monday, the police claimed that Hindol had messaged former students of Jadavpur on WhatsApp and said he would take the initiative for the attack.

The government prosecutor said that the matter was mentioned in the detailed case diary. In response, Hindol's lawyer told the court, "Look at the boy's educational qualifications, he comes from a good family. He was not even physically present at the time of the incident."

After hearing arguments from both sides, the judge granted Hindol bail on a bond of Rs 1,000.

Hindol's lawyer requested that no harsh conditions be imposed that would negatively affect the researcher's studies. The judge gave assurance to consider the point.

Hindol did his B-Tech in Pharmacy from Jadavpur University. He is currently doing research in Spain.

He returned home from Spain on Wednesday. He was detained at the Delhi airport. A lookout notice had been issued against Hindol.

For this reason, the Immigration Department stopped him. Later, he was taken into custody by the Delhi Police. After that, the Kolkata Police was informed about the matter.

A team of Kolkata Police led by the investigating officer of Jadavpur Police Station brought him to Kolkata on transit remand.

--IANS

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