Bail plea of Mir, others deffered again till Aug 26

Srinagar, Aug 21 (UNI) A local court here today once again deferred till August 26 the hearing on the bail applications of former Jammu and Kashmir Ministers Ghulam Ahmed Mir and Raman Mattoo and others, accused in the sex racket.

Principal Sessions Judge, Srinagar Mohammad Yaqoob Mir deferred the hearing of bail applications of Mir, Mattoo and others till August 26.

Moulvi Aijaz pleaded the case on behalf of the accused while the CBI was represented by public prosecutor R K Saini.

The court also said all identical bail applications would be taken up on the same day.

The main case would be taken up on August 26.

Earlier on August 18, the court had deffered the hearing on the bail plea till today.

The court on August 17 had granted interim bail to senior IAS officer Mohammad Iqbal Khanday, another accused in the sex scandal, on medical grounds after 50 days of detention.

He was asked to furnish a surety of Rs one lakh and a personal bond of the same amount.

He was the first among more than 15 accused, arrested by the CBI in connection with the sex scandal, to have been granted bail.

Khanday was arrested by the CBI on June 29, and booked under section five of the Immoral Traffic (Prevention) Act, 1956.

Khanday, an IAS officer of 1978 batch, had served in several top positions, including the Principal Secretary to former Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Mufti Mohammad Sayeed and was the first person from the Valley to have qualified in the Civil Services examination. He was Principal Secretary in the Planning and Development Department at the time of his arrest.

The CBI has so far arrested several top politicians, civil, police and paramilitary officials in connection with the sex racket.

Besides, Mir, Mattoo and Khanday, the others arrested were sacked state Additional Advocate General Anil Sethi, BSF DIG K C Padhi, Jammu and Kashmir Police DSP Mohammad Ashraf Mir, J&K Police Counter- Insurgency Kashmir (CIK) wing DSP Mohammad Yousuf Mir and Naaz Hotel owner Riyaz Kawa.

Mir, a former Minister of State for Roads and Buildings and a sitting Congress legislator from Dooru in Anantnag district, was arrested by the CBI from the Jammu and Kashmir House at Chanakyapuri in New Delhi on June 20.

Mattoo, a former Minister of State for Industries and Commerce and an independent legislator from Habba Kadal in Srinagar, was also arrested by the investigating agency from his residence at Gupkar here on June 20.

The DIG BSF had surrendered before the CBI here on June 7 while Sethi, who was evading arrest since a proclamation notice was issued against him on June 14 by the CJM following a request by the CBI, also surrendered in a local court at Jammu on June 21.

UNI AG SY RAI1725