Bengaluru, Dec 16 (IANS) The Allahabad High Court has granted transit anticipatory bail to the fourth accused – Sushil Singhania, the uncle of the first accused Nikita Singhania – in connection with the sensational Atul Subhash suicide case.
Transit anticipatory bail provides protection to an accused from arrest until he or she can reach a court with jurisdiction in connection with the alleged offence. The measure is temporary in nature and is different from that of the ordinary bail that is granted after an arrest.
The bench headed by Justice Ashutosh Srivatsava passed the order and remarked that the bail pleas of Atul’s wife Nikita Singhania, mother-in-law Nisha Singhania and brother-in-law Anurag Singhania had become infructuous since they were arrested by the Karnataka Police.
The bench observed, that the allegations for instigating suicide have been raised primarily against the Family Court’s Principal Judge, mother-in-law and wife of the deceased. The charges against the fourth accused are limited to issuing threats to the deceased and his parents over the phone and in person.
Meanwhile, Bengaluru police on Monday stated that the two-year-old son of Atul Subhash is safe with one of the relatives and more information can’t be divulged in this regard as the matter is sensitive.
Speaking to media in Bengaluru DCP (Whitefield) Shivakumar Gunare stated, “What we can divulge is the child is with one of the relatives. Since the matter is sensitive, more information in this regard can’t be given. We will provide more information regarding the child in the coming days.”
He said that the court has ordered judicial custody of all accused, Atul’s wife Nikita Singhaniya, mother-in-law Nisha Singhania and brother-in-law Anurag Singhania. The case is being investigated without any bias.
Atul’s father Pavan Kumar Modi had expressed his fears over Atul’s son. He had stated that he didn’t know whether his grandson was alive or not. He further expressed his desire to be with his grandson.
“I used to talk to my grandson over the video call. Nikita’s family had lodged a complaint against us regarding the matter of my grandson,” he claimed.
Three accused in Atul Subhash’s suicide case — his wife, her mother and brother — who were arrested by Bengaluru Police, were sent to 14-day judicial custody on Sunday.
Atul Subhash’s wife Nikita Singhania was arrested from Haryana’s Gurugram and her mother Nisha Singhania and brother Anurag Singhania were nabbed in Prayagraj, Uttar Pradesh.
Prime accused in the sensational Atul Subhash suicide case Nikita Singhania changed her location every day to avoid arrest and tried to obtain bail in the case, said police sources on Monday.
Sources said that the special teams which went to Uttar Pradesh had found that the accused had locked their houses and left after getting the news of the arrival of Karnataka Police teams. The police pasted a notice on the walls of their residences asking them to appear before the police within three days.
The special team gathered information about the accused and listed out the close relatives and friends suspected to be in touch with them. They were also monitored. As the accused made calls only on WhatsApp, it was difficult to track them.
However, Nikita Singhania, made one phone call mistakenly to one of her close relatives. Based on the tower location the police went to Gurugram in Haryana and found that she was hiding in a PG accommodation in the Rail Vihar area. She was detained by the police in the city.
The police grilled Nitika and got her to make a phone call to her mother Nisha Singhania and brother Anurag Singhania. After tracking their location, the police picked them up from Jhunsi town in Uttar Pradesh.
The accused were questioned later for nine hours during the transit time to Bengaluru and ensured that the two-year-old baby boy was in the safe custody of one of her relatives. The police recorded the statements of the accused persons before presenting them to the judge.
The police can take custody of the accused persons on a body warrant if their investigation is required. On the other hand, the family of Nikita is preparing to file a bail plea in the court.
Nikita Singhania has claimed that she never harassed Atul Subhash and she was living away from him for three years. Meanwhile, the family of Atul Subhash is claiming custody of Atul and Nikita’s two-year-old male baby. Bikas Kumar, brother of deceased Subhash has claimed that the family wanted to see the baby.
The accused persons were produced before the court and were sent to judicial custody for 14 days. After nabbing the accused persons, the Karnataka Police brought them to Bengaluru on Saturday late at night.
Preliminary investigations have revealed that Atul Subhash had planned to commit suicide 15 days before taking the extreme step. He had written the death note three days ago and searched legal matters on Google.
The police registered an FIR against the accused persons under Sections 108, 3 (5) of the Bharatiya Nyay Sanhita (BNS) on December 9. Bikas Kumar had lodged a police complaint alleging abetment to suicide with the Marathahalli police in Bengaluru.
The FIR was lodged against Subhash’s wife Nikita Singhania, mother-in-law Nisha Singhania, brother-in-law Anurag Singhania and relative Sushil Singhania. The police are yet to arrest the fourth accused, Sushil, in the case.
Bikas Kumar alleged in the complaint that false cases were lodged against his brother by the accused who had demanded Rs 3 crore to settle the case. He had also alleged that his brother was taunted in the court during the proceedings that he had to either give Rs 3 crore or commit suicide.
Nikita’s family had alleged that the deceased Subhash demanded a hefty dowry from her family which resulted in the death of her father.
Subhash, who was working with an automobile company in Bengaluru, allegedly committed suicide as a demand of Rs 3 crore was made for a divorce settlement.
He ended his life at his apartment in the early hours of December 9, leaving behind a 90-minute video and a 40-page death note, explaining how harassment by his wife Nikita Singhania and her family compelled him to take the extreme step.
–IANS
mka/dan
