Varma murder case: Bail plea of three rejected

The Kerala High Court on Tuesday dismissed the bail plea of three accused in the Harihara Varma murder case.

Dismissing the bail plea of Jitheesh, of Thalassery, Ajeesh of Vadakara and Rakesh of Cherthala, the court observed that it is imperative that serious efforts should be made by the police to fix the identity of the victim and also get the details regarding the financial transactions carried out by him. The High Court had earlier criticised the investigating agency for not taking serious measures to unravel the identity of the victim other than conducting a search with reference to a passport. The investigating agency submitted that it has not been able to track the identity of the victim so far, though it had reached the conclusion that the victim was not connected to any royal family.

Investigation to find out the victim’s identity and unravel the details of his financial dealings is in progress, the agency submitted. During the probe, the Special Investigating Team (SIT) found that the victim had resided in Coimbatore with two young girls aged around 17-18 in 2000-01.

“Efforts will also be made in association with various agencies, including the National Crime Control Bureaus, to send fingerprint records to them for ascertaining whether the victim had any criminal background,” the prosecution submitted. The court also directed that the SIT should inquire whether the transactions carried out by the victim, in diamonds and precious stones, have any criminal connections and also asked it to look into any possible involvement of the victim with unlawful activities of any sort.

The court also observed that the material gathered by the investigating agency has given strong room to suspect the petitioners’ involvement in the case. Apprehension expressed by the SIT that they may try to escape from the legal proceedings cannot be ruled out, it said.

Meanwhile, the court granted bail to Haridas, the sixth accused in the case and asked him to execute a bond of `1 lakh and present solvent sureties for the like amount.

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