Trinamool leaders get bail in hate speech case

Two top Trinamool Congress leaders Tapas Pal and Anubrata Mondal — accused of making hate speeches — were given bail on Monday.

The process in both cases, however, was severely criticised by the Opposition parties.
Pal, a prominent Bengali actor and Trinamool MP, had threatened to have women from families of opposition party supporters raped and killed.

Mondal, a rural heavyweight and the Trinamool’s Birbhum district president, had incited party supporters to assault Independent candidates and throw bombs at the police if they tried to stop such attacks.

Pal, an MP from Krishnanagar in Nadia district, was granted bail on personal bond of Rs 5,000 in connection with his hate speech during the Lok Sabha polls at his constituency on June 14, 2014. He appeared before the district court and surrendered with his counsel praying for bail. After hearing the case for more than five hours, the judge granted him bail.

Criticism from Opposition

The state agency registered a case against Pal in July 2014 and filed the charge sheet on May 28 this year. The charge sheet said Pal was guilty of criminal intimidation and outraging the modesty of women. The Opposition parties, however, questioned the charge sheet and criticised the state for invoking only bailable sections.

Similarly, Mondal’s case also drew flak from the opposition parties and the civil society when it became known that it took him only around 10 minutes to get bail.