GUWAHATI: The Gauhati High Court recently granted bail to Sanjib Talukdar, who was arrested under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA) for his alleged involvement in a grenade attack targeting police personnel near the Assam State Zoo in 2019.
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The incident occurred on May 15, 2019, at around 7.40 PM, when a grenade was hurled at police officers conducting vehicle checks outside Central Mall on RG Baruah Road. Twelve persons were injured. The case was initially registered at Geetanagar Police Station, and the involvement of Ulfa-I was suspected. Talukdar was arrested on May 27, 2019, and remained in custody thereafter.
In June 2019, the National Investigation Agency (NIA) took over the probe and filed a charge sheet in November that year against ten individuals under multiple sections of the IPC and the UAPA. Talukdar’s initial bail plea was rejected by the NIA court, and another subsequent criminal appeal was dismissed by the Gauhati High Court in 2022. He filed a fresh application in 2023 after further rejection by the trial court.
A division bench of Justices Manash Ranjan Pathak and Susmita Phukan Khaund observed that only 32 out of 177 prosecution witnesses had been examined as of April 7, even though charges were framed on February 3, 2022. The court held that Talukdar's prolonged incarceration had infringed on his right to a speedy trial under Article 21 of the Constitution.
Granting bail, the court directed Talukdar to surrender his passport to the NIA court within two weeks and to continue cooperating with the trial proceedings.
