The Thiruvananthapuram Additional Chief Judicial Magistrate Court on Saturday granted bail to BJP leader and Thiruvananthapuram Corporation councillor V.G. Girikumar who was arrested for allegedly plotting an arson assault on the ashram of Sandeepananda Giri in 2018.
The Crime Branch arrested the BJP leader after discovering him to have purportedly conspired with different accomplices to set the ashram on hearth in protest towards the religious leader’s stance in favour of the entry of younger ladies in Sabarimala. He is the fourth accused in the case.
While granting him conditional bail with a surety of ₹50,000, the courtroom ordered him to current himself earlier than the investigation officer on Mondays and Thursdays, and in addition cautioned him towards making an attempt to intimidate witnesses in the case.
A bail plea submitted by the third accused Sabari S. Nair, a Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) activist, was rejected on the grounds that he had different legal instances pending towards him. While the prosecution opposed the bail pleas fearing the progress of the case might be jeopardised by the accused, the defence counsel maintained that the case was politically motivated.
