A sessions court in Surat on Thursday granted bail to Patidar Anamat Andolan Samiti's (PAAS) leader Alpesh Kathiriya in an attempt to murder case filed against him on December 6, 2017, in city's Amroli police station. The court's verdict has finally paved the way for Kathiriya's release from jail, which is likely to be celebrated by Patidars.
According to Kathiriya's lawyer, Yashvantsinh Vala, he will try to complete the formalities for his client's release on Friday and since there is a holiday on Saturday and Sunday, the PAAS leader is likely to be released on Monday. "It is a big relief for Kathiriya and he will be finally released from jail," he said.
Vala during the hearing of the bail application contended that a year had passed since the FIR was registered, but even the police are not considering the matter seriously. He also contended that even the CCTV footage of the incident does not provide that Kathiriya was present during the incident. The lawyer also contended that Kathiriya was never absconding and therefore, he shall be granted bail.
The lawyer also contended that Kathiriya had already filed a complaint against Urvesh Jira and Manisha Jira, the two witnesses in the attempt to murder case registered against him. He also contended that the investigation officer has submitted in his report that the complainant, Kalpesh Devani, is influenced by BJP, which indicates that the complaint was filed with prejudice.
Following the arguments, additional sessions judge Prashant Jain granted bail to Kathiriya.
Interestingly, the Gujarat High Court had granted bail to the PAAS leader in November in the sedition case filed against him in 2015 by the Ahmedabad crime branch after widespread violence in the state during Hardik Patel's quota stir.
