[ Indu Chukhu ]
ITANAGAR, 16 Aug: The East Siang district & sessions court here has rejected the bail petition of Nason Borang, owner of the Serene Rehabilitation Centre, in connection with the alleged murder of Olip Litin Mukherjee on 19 July.
Borang’s anticipatory bail was rejected on Tuesday, following which he is currently absconding. More than 19 persons have so far been arrested in the case.
The court order stated that the alleged accused, Borang, said that he was not present when the incident occurred (at around 8:15 pm of 19 July), and that the centre’s staff informed him later that night that a group of inmates had beaten up the cook, and that it had further resulted in a fight between the rehab centre’s volunteers and the inmates.
The order further quoted Borang as saying that he “rushed to the centre, and on reaching, the fight was already over.”
“It is further mentioned in the case diary that, at 11:15 pm, Olip developed breathing problem, and later succumbed to his injuries in the hospital,” the court’s order read.
After going through the written arguments from the counsels representing both parties, the court observed that “custodial interrogation is necessary in the case, in respect of the alleged accused Nason Borang.”
The court observed also that “the allegation against the accused, and his role, as alleged at this stage, is of grave offence with severity of punishment.”
Meanwhile, the interim bail granted to Women Against Social Evils (WASE) president Yamik Dulom Darang stands absolute, the court said. Darang had on 28 June said that she, along with three other WASE members, had caught Olip
and two other accused persons consuming drugs in a rented apartment. Later, she reported this to the wife and family of the deceased.
Darang’s counsel said that, according to the statement issued by WASE, the members had asked Olip mother whether her son should be taken to the police or to the rehabilitation centre, to which the mother had consented to send her son to the rehabilitation centre.
