Delhi HC refuses bail to accused in Nido Tania murder case

New Delhi: The Delhi High Court on Wednesday refused to grant bail to one of the accused arrested in connection with the death of 19-year-old Arunachal Pradesh’s student Nido Tania.

A bench of Justice Sunita Gupta declined to entertain accused Farman’s bail application, after which he withdrew his petition from the court.

Of the four accused, Farman is the only one who is presently lodged in jail since his arrest.

Tania, a BA first year student of a private university in New Delhi, had an altercation with some shopkeepers at Lajpat Nagar market in NewDelhi on 29 January, 2014, after they made fun of his hair style.

Following the altercation, the shopkeepers had allegedly thrashed him. He was brought dead to AIIMS the next day.

The death of Tania had evoked outrage among the people, with those from the Northeast living in the capital alleging that the police had failed to protect him.

Initially, the police had booked four accused – Farman, Pawan, Sunder Singh and Sunny Uppal – under section 302 (murder) of IPC after the postmortem report showed Tania died due to injuries on his head and face caused by a blunt object. The agency had also invoked charges under the SC/ST Act.

However, during filing of the charge sheet, CBI dropped the murder charges against the accused, saying Tania’s killing was not pre-meditated but a result of an altercation over breaking of a glass counter of a shop in the market.

Three minors, who had also allegedly assaulted Tania, are facing an inquiry before the Juvenile Justice Board in New Delhi.

Recently, CBI and Tania’s father Nido Pavitra’s has also moved the court against the trial court’s decision to drop charges under the SC/ST Act against the culprits.

PTI