HC grants bail to murder accused as trial is inconclusive after 12 years

KOLKATA: Consider that excessive delay unacceptable at the end of a process, Calcutta HC has granted bail until the end of November to a man who served 11 years and seven months in prison for allegedly killing his two daughters and dumping their bodies on the side of the road in 2012.
“Given the conduct of the prosecution, we are not sure when the trial will actually be completed,” Justices Arijit Banerjee and Apurba Sinha Ray said in their September 24 order. The prosecution had assured the HC on May 7 that the trial was over Istiaque Ahamad aka Istiaque Sk, would be completed within a month. However, on September 24, it informed the court that two more witnesses still needed to be heard.
The case dates back to 2012 when taxi driver Jagannath Rai allegedly saw a teenage girl's head in a city vat near Dhakuria railway station road junction on January 25 and plastic bags in the vat. A foul smell from the bag aroused his suspicions and he peeked inside.
Based on Rai's statement, a case against unknown persons was registered at the Lake police station, which was later transferred to the homicide squad. Istiaque was arrested on February 11, 2013. At the same time, based on a letter from Sk Munna dated January 24, 2012, it was alleged that he found the body of a girl aged 9 or 10 in a plastic bag on the platform of Park Circus station. A case was registered by Ballygunge GRPS. The two cases were heard later.
The prosecution claimed that both of the deceased girls were Istiaque's daughters from his second marriage.