Udayan refuses to move bail petition

ABHIJEET CHATTERJEE, TT, Bankura, Feb. 16: Udayan Das, accused of murdering his partner Akansha Sharma, today refused to seek bail for the second time as his defence counsel moved a petition in a Bankura court.

When chief judicial magistrate Arun Kumar Nandi wanted to know from Udayan if he had anything to say on the bail petition his lawyer had moved, he replied: "No sir, I don't want to file any bail petition."

When the judge looked at defence counsel Arup Banerjee, he silently took his chair.

Banerjee later told journalists outside the court that he was just doing his duty.

"It was Udayan who had appointed me his defence counsel and requested me to bring him out of custody so that he could perform the last rites of his parents. But he became hostile during his eight-day police custody. I just did my job as his lawyer," Banerjee said.

Yesterday, Udayan had shouted in the court that he had "voluntarily killed" Akansha when Banerjee tried to argue that the woman had committed suicide.

A police team from Raipur, where a case is lodged against Udayan for allegedly murdering his parents, today secured the Bankura court's permission to take him on transit remand.