Court grants police remand of 3 women held over Noida protest violence, but allows lawyer presence

Noida: A city court on Thursday allowed conditional police remand of three women — Aakriti Chaudhary, Manisha Chauhan and Srishti Gupta — accused of inciting violence during the industrial workers’ protest on April 13. The court also allowed their lawyers to be present during investigation proceedings.

The court of additional civil judicial magistrate (ACJM) Virek Aggrawal ruled that the police custody period would start at 9 am on April 24 and last till 6 pm on April 26.

“During custody, the investigating officer will ensure that the accused undergo a medical examination at the time of taking them into police custody from the jail and at the time of their admission to the prison after police custody. The IO will not subject the accused to mental or physical harassment, and the learned counsel for the accused may observe the investigation proceedings while maintaining a reasonable distance and without obstructing the investigation,” the judge ruled, directing a copy of the order to be sent to the superintendent of the district jail and the investigating officer of the case.

Rajnish Yadav, the defence counsel, urged the court during proceedings to also allow a woman family member to observe the investigation from a distance besides the counsel. Earlier, on Wednesday, the counsel for Srishti Gupta objected to police custody, stating that there was no evidence to support it and no new evidence emerged against her either.

The judge, however, observed that evidence collected by the investigating officer and statements given by the accused indicated they prima facie possessed the items (mobile phones, etc.) used in the incident under investigation. “Therefore, in such circumstances, granting the accused’s police custody remand appears justified,” the judge said.

Aakriti and Srishti are both from Delhi and in their 20s. Aakriti has a masters in history from Daulat Ram College. Manisha is a worker with an industrial unit in Noida.

In the application for custody, police contended that there was “full possibility of getting important evidence from the place of residence of the accused”. “There is a strong possibility that significant evidence related to the incident will be found. The items and other materials recovered at the accused’s pointing out may be crucial evidence in the case, but they may be destroyed or removed over time, potentially destroying crucial evidence in the case,” the police application said, asking for 10 days’ custody.

Bail applications for Srishti and Aakriti were, meanwhile, taken up by the Special SC/ST Court and slated for hearing on April 27. Hearings seeking police remand of other key accused in the case were also held, but details of the order were not available at the time of writing this report.
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