Shillong, July 13: East Khasi Hills Superintendent of Police Vivek Syiem on Monday said a clerical error in the arrest documents led to the granting of bail to Sonam Raghuvanshi, the prime accused in the murder of Indore businessman Raja Raghuvanshi.
Syiem said the mistake occurred while the arrest memorandum and related documents were being prepared in Ghazipur. According to him, Section 403 was mistakenly mentioned instead of Section 103 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS). “Three documents were prepared, and instead of 103, they mentioned 403. There is no Section 403 in the BNSS. It was a clerical error because of which she secured bail,” Syiem said. He added that the bail order was subsequently upheld by both the High Court and the Supreme Court.
The SP said multiple police teams had been deployed to Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh and Ghazipur during the operation to arrest the accused. “Two officers went from here, and multiple teams were sent to different places,” he said.
Confirming that Sonam was currently out on bail, Syiem said she was complying with the conditions imposed by the court and appearing at all scheduled hearings. “Yes, she is abiding by the bail conditions. She is here and is appearing for all the hearings as directed by the court,” he said.
Terming the development a setback to the investigation, the SP said the prosecution would continue to pursue the case during the trial. “The trial will go on. This is a setback to the investigation, but we have not lost the war. Let us look forward to the trial,” Syiem said.
He added that the documents sought by the Supreme Court had been forwarded to the Advocate General.
