Nawada arson case: HC denies bail to 16 accused

Patna: The Patna high court has rejected the regular bail pleas of 16 accused people, including the alleged mastermind, Nandu Paswan, who were arrested for allegedly setting fire to the homes of 80 scheduled caste (SC) families in Nawada town on the night of Sept 18 last year.A single bench of Justice R P Mishra, after hearing a batch of criminal appeals filed by Paswan and 15 other accused, dismissed their petitions on Thursday.The appellants, who have been in judicial custody for four months, had moved the high court after their bail pleas were earlier rejected by the special judge of the exclusive Special SC/ST Court in Nawada.According to the FIR registered at Nawada Mofussil police station on Sept 19, the accused were involved in a violent attack that resulted in the arson of 34 houses, displacing 80 SC residents in Krishna Nagar, Dedaur locality of Nawada district. In total, 28 people, including the appellants, were named in the FIR under relevant sections of the Bhartiya Nyaya Sanhita, the Arms Act and the SC/ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989.During the hearing, Justice Mishra called for the case diary of the special investigation team (SIT) probing the case and directed that a notice be issued to the informant, Beas Muni Manjhi, to present his version.The special public prosecutor for SC/ST cases in Patna high court, Sadanand Paswan, strongly opposed the bail pleas, leading to their rejection.