11 April,2017 08:05 AM IST | | Vinod Kumar Menon
On Monday, arguments began on the anticipatory bail application of journalist Poonam Agarwal and retired army jawan Deepchand, against whom a case has been registered under the Official Secrets Act (OSA) and the Indian Penal Code in the death of Lance Naik Roy Mathew, who was found hanging in an unoccupied barrack Deolali Cantonment, Nashik, on March 2
Lance Naik Roy Mathew
On Monday, arguments began on the anticipatory bail application of journalist Poonam Agarwal and retired army jawan Deepchand, against whom a case has been registered under the Official Secrets Act (OSA) and the Indian Penal Code in the death of Lance Naik Roy Mathew, who was found hanging in an unoccupied barrack Deolali Cantonment, Nashik, on March 2.
"The court has reserved the order on the bail application for April 15," an officer said.
When asked if the web portal and the journalist replied to the fresh set of questions, the officer replied in the affirmative and said, "We are in the process of going through the reply and will compare the same with the statements."
Senior police officers informed mid-day that the defence lawyers argued in court about application of the OSA in the case and claimed that it was applicable in the case of conspiracy against the nation. On this, the prosecution said that the Army in the FIR has hinted at some links and therefore, the said sections of OSA were applicable.
A senior police officer said the web portal has stated that Agarwal was working on the story with their consent and all the equipments used for shooting were theirs.
"We have got the reply and will consult our legal department before we decided on any further course of action," the police officer said.
Speaking to mid-day, investigating officer GP Lokhare of Deolali camp police station said, "We have written a letter to the Regional Forensic Science Laboratory (RFSL), Nashik asking them to submit the handwriting analysis report (Roy Mathew had left a diary note) and the forensic analysis and a report of the data retrieval of the mobile handset."
Meanwhile, the police have approached the Army to help them trace a jawan who has been featured in the video.
"Out of the series of jawans featured in the video, we have already recorded the statement of Lance Naik Nareshkumar Jatav and have accordingly registered a FIR on the basis of his complaint against the journalist and Deepchand. A second jawan has also complained about them, but he is yet to come forward to record his statement," said a senior police officer from Nashik.
