Court refuses bail to six women arrested during protest

A sessions court here on Friday rejected bail pleas of six women who had been arrested during a violent protest last week in which over two dozen people including policemen suffered injuries during stone-pelting.

These women have been booked for conspiracy, attempt to murder, rioting among other charges along with a mob of 5,000 people.

Rejecting the bail pleas, the sessions judge Vinod J Kalotra observed that "the applicants have sought mercy for being women and if mercy is granted to them the police will not be able to perform its duty, which will encourage such kinds of acts and would risk peace and safety of innocent people."

The order goes on to say, "Mercy is a virtue, but with intention, this criminal act has been committed doesn’t qualify for mercy and if mercy is granted in these kinds of cases people will lose their faith in the judiciary and it will be a blot on judiciary's image. Considering all these aspects and in view of the present prevailing situation in Ahmedabad, which has created an atmosphere of fear among the people, these bail pleas can’t be entertained.”

Among the women who had sought bail are Mejbi Iqbal Shaikh, Najma Mohammed Chogala, Kherunnisha Mohammed Pathan, Malaben Khan, Sakina Anwar Sheikh and Parveen alias Manju Ayubhai Shaikh, all residents of Isanpur.

They had been arrested by Isanpur police station along with over 50 others including a local Congress councilor Shehzad Pathan during the protest.

The arrested women moved bail pleas on several grounds claiming that they are innocent and lodged in jail with their children.

They pleaded that they don’t have a criminal history and nothing has been recovered from them.

They also stated in the bail plea that they have houses in the city and wouldn't run away. They assured the court that they would cooperate with the police in the investigation.

The public prosecutor Sudhir Brahmbhatt opposed the pleas while, arguing that these women, in a pre-planned manner held meetings, circulated message from their mobile phones for assembling people in large number in order to make the protest massive.