HC grants bail to suspended police inspector

The Madurai Bench of the Madras High Court has granted conditional bail to suspended police inspector Sathya Sheela of Ramanathapuram district, who was arrested for accepting money from an accused for failing to intervene in a POCSO case registered in Pudukottai district.

Justice AA Nakkiran granted bail to Sheela on certain conditions. The court took into account that the co-accused had already been released on bail. She was directed to appear before the CB-CID in Pudukottai district at 10.30 am daily until further orders. The state said that investigation in the case is pending.

She was formally arrested on May 30 on a Prisoner on Rendition (PT) warrant. She was earlier arrested in connection with a murder case in Srivilliputtur in Virudhunagar district.

The prosecution alleges that the complainant had filed a first complaint against an accused for an offence under the POCSO Act. She and her accomplices allegedly received money from the accused to close the complaint. However, it was not closed. Out of frustration, the accused committed suicide. The complainant said that she had not committed any of the offences she was accused of.

On June 18, the court rejected the bail application filed by Sheela in connection with the Virudhunagar district murder. In May, a dispute broke out between two groups over the installation of a statue at the Muthumariamman Temple in Srivilliputtur. Sheela was part of one of the groups. An elderly man who was attacked in the incident was taken to Government Rajaji Hospital in Madurai, where he later succumbed to his injuries. Subsequently, Sheela was also arrested along with other accused in the case.

(For help in overcoming suicidal thoughts, call Government Health Helpline 104, Tele-MANAS 14416, Sneha’s Suicide Prevention Helpline 044-24640050 and Speak2Us Mental Health Helpline 9375493754).