A sessions court on Wednesday rejected the anticipatory bail application of suspended deputy commissioner of police (DCP) Saurabh Tripathi, who was booked eight months ago in the Angadia extortion case and has been on the run since then. After his previous pre-arrest bail plea was rejected in March this year, Tripathi approached the sessions court again last week after other accused, including his brother-in-law, were granted bail. In the fresh bail plea, Tripathi had said that there was a change in circumstances from his previous plea. He argued that the chargesheet had been filed in the case already. It was submitted that according to the chargesheet, the key witnesses did not identify the other accused and there was no evidence against him. He also said in the plea that other accused were granted bail in the case, and that his custodial interrogation was not required for the probe. Police had opposed his plea, stating that the investigators did not have the opportunity to interrogate him as he had not made himself available since the offence was registered. Other accused in the case, including other police personnel and Tripathi’s brother-in-law Ashutosh Mishra, have been granted bail. Police had given a no-objection to his release on bail. A detailed order on why the sessions court rejected the plea has not yet been made available.
