Kerala bus harassment death: Court rejects accused Shimjitha’s bail plea; remand to continue

Kozhikode: Shimjitha Musthafa of Muttungal in Vadakara, the accused in the case related to the suicide of Deepak, a resident of Govindapuram in Kozhikode, following the circulation of an allegedly defamatory video on social media, was denied bail on Tuesday. The Kunnamangalam First Class Judicial Magistrate Court rejected the bail application of Shimjitha, who is in remand custody on charges of abetment to suicide, upholding the prosecution’s arguments.

Arguments on the bail plea were concluded on January 24. Shimjitha, who is currently lodged at the Manjeri jail, will continue in remand as the police have not sought custodial interrogation. Meanwhile, Shimjitha’s counsel said that they would approach the higher court for bail and that a bail application would be filed before the district court soon.

The police had submitted a report to the court stating that if released on bail, the accused could influence witnesses. The Medical College police, in their report, said the investigation is at a preliminary stage and that granting bail could lead to the accused influencing witnesses. Statements of bus staff and passengers who were travelling in the bus at the time are yet to be recorded. In this context, the prosecution argued that granting bail could result in destruction of evidence and influencing of witnesses.

The investigation team informed the court that the video was recorded and circulated with the intention of conducting a social trial, and that Deepak died by suicide due to the mental distress caused by this. They said that witness statements and evidence supporting this are being collected. All these aspects were considered by the court.

The defence argued that there was no prior acquaintance between Deepak and Shimjitha and that the charge of abetment to suicide would not stand. The mobile phone used by Shimjitha to post the video has been sent for forensic examination.

The woman had recorded a video of Deepak and circulated it on social media, alleging sexual assault by him inside a private bus at Payyannur.