CUTTACK: The Orissa High Court has granted bail to Amit Agarwal, a jeweller from Uttar Pradesh, who was arrested by CBI from Indore for allegedly killing his wife and two daughters at a seaside hotel in Puri in 2013.
The single judge bench of Justice Sangam Kumar Sahoo issued the direction for Amit’s release on Tuesday in view of the slow progress of trial which was evident from the fact that only 12 of the 152 prosecution witnesses had been examined since the charges were framed against him on December 26, 2018. The bodies of Ankita Bansal, her two daughters - Vaani and Divyansh were found from the hotel room on December 15, 2013. Amit, a bullion trader from Lucknow, was the main accused and was absconding after committing the crime.
CBI had registered the case after taking over the probe from Puri police on September 3, 2015. Amit was taken into custody after he was traced to Indore on May 25, 2018 and the chargesheet in the case was submitted before the trial court in Bhubaneswar on September 20, 2018.
Amit had filed a bail petition in the high court on August 1, 2023 after his bail plea was rejected by the court of Second Additional Sessions Judge (Bhubaneswar) on July 6, 2023. Justice Sahoo said he was inclined to reconsider Amit’s plea and direct his release as the reason for the slow progress of trial is not attributable to him in any manner and since there is nothing adverse against his conduct neither during the interim bail period granted by high court nor in the period of his detention in judicial custody.
“He shall furnish bail bond of `1 lakh with two local solvent sureties each for the like amount to the satisfaction of the trial court with further terms and conditions as the court may deem just and proper,” Justice Sahoo ordered. The other conditions set by high court include personally appearing before SP, CBI, Bhubaneswar once a month preferably during the first week of every month. The prosecution story was that a financially bankrupt Amit had allegedly planned to commit suicide after killing his family members. They checked into the hotel in Puri on December 9, 2013. But he was scared of death after allegedly killing his wife and children and fled the hotel.