Accused in Vellarada village office arson gets bail

Samkutty, who is accused of setting fire to the Vellarada village office, was granted bail by the High Court of Kerala on Friday.

While granting bail to the accused, Justice P. Ubaid imposed stringent bail conditions and directed Samkutty to deposit Rs.40,000 in one week.

Loss to exchequer

The State government, which opposed the bail application, contended that exchequer had suffered a loss of Rs.2.86 lakh besides losing valuable office records and documents.

The government also pleaded that the accused should be directed to deposit Rs. 2.86 lakh, which was equivalent to the pecuniary loss suffered by the government, if the court was inclined to grant him bail.

However, the counsel for the accused opposed the government stand and contended that Samkutty was not in a position to deposit the amount demanded by the government.

The court asked the accused to cooperate with the investigation.

Samkutty is accused of setting fire to the Vellarada village office in the capital district.