Orissa HC grants bail to man accused of murdering family

Cuttack: The Orissa High Court has granted bail to Amit Agarwal, a jeweler from Uttar Pradesh who was arrested by the CBI from Indore on charges of murder of his wife and two daughters at a seaside hotel in Puri in 2013. A single-judge bench of Justice Sangam Kumar Sahu on Tuesday issued directions for Amit’s release in view of the slow progress of the trial, which was evident from the fact that only 12 of the 152 prosecution witnesses were examined as there were allegations against him. Charges were framed. December 26, 2018. The bodies of Ankita Bansal, her two daughters – Vani and Divyansh were found in their hotel room on December 15, 2013. Amit, a bullion trader from Lucknow, was the main accused and was absconding after committing the crime. The CBI had registered the case on September 3, 2015 after taking over the investigation from Puri police. After Amit was traced in Indore on May 25, 2018, he was taken into custody and the charge sheet in the case was presented before the trial court in Bhubaneswar. 20 September 2018. Amit had filed a bail plea in the High Court on August 1, 2023, after his bail plea was rejected by the court of Second Additional Sessions Judge (Bhubaneswar) on July 6, 2023. Justice Sahu said he was willing to reconsider Amit’s plea and give directions. His release as a reason for the slow progress of the trial is in no way attributable to him and since neither during the interim bail period granted by the High Court nor during the period of his detention in judicial custody there was anything against his conduct is also not adverse. Justice Sahu ordered, “He has to furnish a bail bond of `1 lakh with two local solvent sureties for the like amount to the satisfaction of the trial court, with further terms and conditions as the court deems fit and proper. ” Other conditions set by the High Court include appearing in person before the SP, CBI, Bhubaneswar once a month, especially during the first week of every month. The prosecution’s story was that financially bankrupt Amit had allegedly planned to commit suicide after killing his family members. He checked into the hotel in Puri on December 9, 2013. But after allegedly killing his wife and children, he became scared of death and fled the hotel.