High Court rejects bail plea in Rohru boy's suicide case

The Himachal Pradesh High Court has dismissed the anticipatory bail plea of Pushpa Devi in a case related to the alleged caste-based assault and subsequent suicide by a minor boy in Rohru tehsil of Shimla district. Justice Rakesh Kainthla, while rejecting the plea, held that the anticipatory bail application was not maintainable in view of the bar under Section 18 of the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, as the offence appeared prima facie to fall under the provisions of the Act.

The court, after perusing the status report and the FIR, observed that there was prima facie evidence the accused had beaten the boy, who belonged to a Scheduled Caste, and confined him to a cowshed because he had touched her house. The accused allegedly demanded a goat for purification and refused to release the boy until her demand was met. The boy was about 11 years and 10 months old, while Pushpa Devi is around 50 years’ old and does not belong to a Scheduled Caste. The police investigation alleged that the incident had a caste-based motive.