Trucker who hit Mamata’s convoy granted bail

KOLKATA - A West Bengal court Wednesday granted interim bail to a driver whose truck hit the convoy of Railway Minister and Trinamool Congress chief Mamata Banerjee while she was returning here from a rally Aug 9.

Gurjant Singh was granted interim bail on payment of Rs.5,000 as surety till Sep 8 by the chief magistrate court in Tamluk town of East Midnapore district.

The driver’s lawyer Ashok Dinda said: “Gurjant was given interim bail on the condition that he will not move out of the state and present himself once a week at the headquarters of the criminal investigation department (CID).”

“Gurjant was Wednesday granted bail after the documents and the reports of the vehicle’s mechanical tests failed to substantiate any of the allegations levelled against him,” said the lawyer.

Singh’s bail plea was earlier rejected Aug 23 as police did not submit the case documents, he added.

The driver was arrested Aug 9 following a complaint lodged by Trinamool MP Subhendhu Adhikari and released on bail the very next day.

After Trinamool leaders alleged that the accident was an attempt on Banerjee’s life, the state government engaged the CID to probe the matter.

The CID rearrested Singh Aug 11 and he was subsequently remanded to CID custody for 12 days by the Tamluk court. He was remanded to judicial custody after he was presented in court Aug 23.

The truck hit the car of Intelligence Bureau (IB) officials in the convoy. Their car, in turn, hit the minister’s vehicle at Kolaghat, injuring an officer. The minister was returning from a rally in Lalgarh.