Ahmedabad:
After a marathon five hours of arguments and counter-arguments, there was some relief for senior Gujarat police officer PP Pande, accused of murdering college student
Ishrat Jahan. A court in Ahmedabad has granted anticipatory bail till July 31 to Mr Pande who, after remaining underground for over two months, dramatically arrived on a stretcher for today's hearing.
Mr Pande had disappeared in April after he was made an accused by the CBI in the Ishrat case. On Friday, the Supreme Court had ordered the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) not to arrest him, and said he should show up in court. On Sunday, the police officer reported to work for a few hours. He was later admitted to hospital after complaining of chest pains.
In court today, Mr Pande's counsel contended that there wasn't sufficient evidence against him to warrant his arrest. His lawyers have said he has "an immaculate record" and is the target of a "witch-hunt" by the CBI. But the prosecution argued against the bail, saying the top cop had been deliberately evading the agency.
The court has now asked Mr Pande to appear before another CBI court on July 31 in connection with a non-bailable warrant issued against him.
Mr Pande was heading the Crime Branch in Ahmedabad when 19-year-old Ishrat was shot dead with three men on the outskirts of the city in 2004.
In its first chargesheet filed last month, the CBI listed Mr Pande as one of seven policemen who allegedly murdered her in what it described as a "staged encounter" committed "in cold blood."
The policemen have said in their defence that they had been warned by the state's Intelligence Bureau that Ishrat and her companions were planning to assassinate chief minister
Narendra Modi on behalf of the Lashkar-e-Taiba.