The Calcutta High Court has granted interim bail to Ishtiaq Ahamad, a man detained for over 11 years under charges of murdering his two minor stepdaughters. The decision comes amid delays in the trial’s completion. The girls, aged 9 and 15, were found deceased near Dhakuria and Park Circus railway stations respectively in January 2012.
Ishtiaq Ahamad was arrested in 2013, charged with the murders of the children who lived with him while their mother worked in another state. They were from his wife’s previous marriage. The lengthy pre-trial custody led Ahamad’s counsel to seek bail, emphasizing the prolonged delay in judicial proceedings.
The state government’s counsel assured the court earlier this year that the remaining prosecution witnesses would be examined within a month. However, with two key witnesses yet to testify and uncertainty about the trial’s conclusion, Justice Arijit Banerjee, along with Justice Apurba Sinha Ray, cited the “inordinate and unexplained delay” as the basis for their decision to grant bail.
Under the terms set by the division bench, Ahamad is to be released on interim bail upon posting a Rs 10,000 bond with two sureties of a similar amount. He is required to stay within the jurisdiction of the Lake police station in Kolkata, reporting to its officer-in-charge twice weekly.
The court has further mandated Ahamad to attend every trial hearing without fail and has prohibited any contact with witnesses or tampering with evidence. The interim bail is scheduled to continue until the end of November 2024 or until further court orders, with the case set to be revisited on November 20.
