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Delhi's Patiala House Court on Monday granted bail to a man accused of stealing a five-crore-year-old gastropod fossil from the India International Trade Fair (IITF).
He was in custody since November 26 after his arrest. Judicial Magistrate (First class) Ravi granted bail to Manoj Kumar Mishra on furnishing a personal bond of Rs 10,000 and a surety bond in the like amount. "Perusal of the record shows that the recovery in the present matter has been made by the Investigation Officer (IO) and that the accused person is running in police custody as of now. Investigation is the prerogative of the IO, however, continuance of the investigation is no ground to deny bail to the accused person," the court said in the order dated December 2. Judicial Magistrate Ravi said, " Since, the recovery in the present matter has been made and the fact that trial would take some considerable time, this Court is of the view that keeping the accused in custody would not serve any purpose." Delhi police had registered an FIR on the basis of a complaint of one Dr. Praveer Pankaj. The complainant had alleged that GSI has a stall in the Ministry of Mines pavallion, IITF 2024. A Gastropod Fossil, (Weight- 1KG Length- 14 Commission) Width- 10 Commission and Height- 12 Commission) has been Stolen From rack by someone. Advocate Sahil Rao and Rahul Yadav submitted that the accused has been falsely implicated in the present matter and the alleged recovery is of an article which belongs to no one at IITF, further that the accused is running in custody since 26.11.2024. Delhi Police filed a reply wherein the grant of bail has been opposed on the ground that an investigation is going on in the present matter and recovery has been made. It was also stated that the accused was apprehended on the basis of CCTV footage. The accused should not be enlarged on bail as an investigation is in progress. (ANI)
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