IN THE HIGH COURT OF KERALA AT ERNAKULAM PRESENT : THE HONOURABLE MR. JUSTICE V.RAMKUMAR FRIDAY, THE 24TH JUNE 2011 / 3RD ASHADHA 1933 Bail Appl..No. 4863 of 2011() --------------------------------- CRIME NO. 100/CR/EOWI/KLM/2011 of CBCID, EOWI, KOLLAM APPLICANT/ACCUSED NO.5:- -------------------------------- SANTHOSH, AGED 56 YEARS, S/O. ANANDAN, SANTHOSH BHAVANAM, MANGALAM NAGAR 138, MANGAD CHERRI, MANGAD VILLAGE, KOLLAM. BY ADV. SRI.P.VIJAYA BHANU, SENIOR ADVOCATE SRI.M.REVIKRISHNAN SRI.VIPIN NARAYAN RESPONDENT/COMPLAINANT:- ----------------------------------- STATE OF KERALA, REPRESENTED BY PUBLIC PROSECUTOR, HIGH COURT OF KERALA, ERNAKULAM. REPRESENTING THE SUPERINTENDENT OF POLICE, CBCID, EOWI, KOLLAM. ADV. SRI. C.S. HRITHWIK, PUBLIC PROSECUTOR THIS BAIL APPLICATION HAVING BEEN FINALLY HEARD ON 24/06/2011, THE COURT ON THE SAME DAY PASSED THE FOLLOWING: V. RAMKUMAR, J. ......................................................... Bail Application No.4863 of 2011 .......................................................... Dated this the 24th day of June, 2011. ORDER Petitioner, who is the fifth accused in Crime No.100/CR/EOWI/KLM/2011 of CBCID, EOWI, Kollam for offences punishable under Sections 120B, 201, 324, 326 and 307 read with Section 34 I.P.C., seeks his enlargement on bail. The occurrence took place on 16.04.2011. The petitioner was arrested on 17.05.2011. 2. The application was opposed by the learned Public Prosecutor contending inter alia that the petitioner who has dubious antecedents is involved in three other crimes and that, if released, the petitioner will flee from justice. 3. The case of the prosecution as revealed by the investigation thus far conducted by the Superintendent of Police, Crime Branch C.I.D., EOW-I, HQ, Kollam is the following:- The de facto complainant on whose life an attempt was made, is one V.B. Unnithan, who is the reporter of Mathrubhumi daily. On 30-10-2009 and some other days the complainant had written reports in the Mathrubhumi daily exposing the activities of A6 (Santhosh Nair) who is a Deputy Superintedent of Police B.A. No. 4863/2011 : 2: (Dy.S.P.). The reports proceeded to say that the above Dy.S.P. and some other police officers assembled at the Kollam Government Guest House with an Abkari Contractor and had hosted a booze party for giving a send off to another police officer going for Haj pilgrimage. The report went on to say that film stars and serial actresses were also present in the treat. The above reports had caused annoyance and hardship to the police officers including A6 and their families. Some of the officers had got transferred to distant places. Thereupon A6 conspired with A5 (Santhosh Kumar @ Container Santhosh) who is running a transshipment business at Wellington Island in Kochi to attack reporter Unnithan. It was A6 the Dy.S.P. who furnished the address and registration number of the motor cycle used by Unnithan. A6 had also mailed photographs including a photo of Unnithan from his E-mail I.D. to the E-mail I.D. of A5. Thereafter A5 engaged A1 to A4 ( Sreejith @ Happy Rajesh, Mahesh @ Punchiri Mahesh, Anand and Shafeek) who are hirelings to execute their ploy. Accordingly, in the night of 16-4-2011, A1 to A4 followed Unnithan in two motorcycles from Mathrubhumi Office at Ramankulangara to Sasthamcotta. B.A. No. 4863/2011 : 3: At about 9.45 p.m. Unnithan alighted from a bus at Sasthamcotta near Gemini Heights Auditorium to take his motor cycle. While so, A1 to A4 assaulted him with iron pipes. Unnithan sustained fracture of both the bones of his left leg, fracture of spine and ribs and fracture of coccyx. He was rushed to Padmavathy Medical Foundation at Sasthamcotta where he is undergoing treatment for the severe injuries. In the meanwhile , Sreejith @ Happy Rajesh who was one of the four persons who assaulted Unnithan was found murdered near the District Hospital, Kollam and the Kollam East Police have registered a case as Crime No. 489/2011 under Sec. 302 I.P.C. The complicity of the petitioner behind the above murder is being probed by the investigating agency. 4. Some of the materials collected during investigation indicate an unholy friendship between A5 and A6. A5 is a filthy rich person keeping good contacts with the rowdy and bad characters of Kollam town and using them for various criminal activities including taking vengeance on his opponents and rivals. He is capable of influencing witnesses and tampering with the evidence. The investigation of the case is still under B.A. No. 4863/2011 : 4: progress. If at this stage of investigation, the petitioner is released on bail, he will definitely influence and intimidate the prosecution witnesses and tamper with the evidence of the prosecution. There is also the sure likelyhood of the petitioner fleeing from justice. This petition is accordingly dismissed. V. RAMKUMAR, JUDGE. rv