Main accused in Jalpaiguri child-trafficking case gets bail after 7 yrs

Dibyendu Sinha, MP, 20 May 2024, Jalpaiguri: Chandana Chakraborty, the main accused in the Jalpaiguri child-trafficking case, was granted bail after spending almost 7.5 years in jail. 

On Monday, the Circuit Bench of the Calcutta High Court in Jalpaiguri, comprising Justice Joymalya Bagchi and Justice Ajay Kumar Gupta approved her bail plea, as stated by Sourav Ganguly, the lawyer representing the accused. It has been reported that there were three cases against Chandana Chakraborty related to the child-trafficking incident. 

In 2016, the Jalpaiguri Child Welfare Committee alleged that 17 children were illegally adopted from the Specialized Adoption Agency’s Bimala Children’s Home in Jalpaiguri, which operated under the North Bengal People’s Development Centre, Jalpaiguri. The centre was affiliated with the Central Adoption Resource Authority. Following this complaint, the CID initiated an investigation in mid-January 2017. 

Chandana Chakraborty, chairperson of the North Bengal People’s Development Centre in Jalpaiguri, was arrested in February 2017. Sonali Mondal, Jalpaiguri District Child Protection Officer Sushmita Ghosh, Darjeeling District Child Protection Officer Mrinal Ghosh, and Chandana Chakraborty’s brother, Manas Bhowmik, were arrested. 

Sourav Ganguly, Chandana Chakraborty’s lawyer, stated: “Among the 7 accused in this case, 4 have already been granted bail. Besides Chandana, Mrinal Ghosh and Sonali Mondal are currently in jail custody. 

Last November, the Supreme Court rejected Mrinal Ghosh’s bail plea and ordered the case to be completed within 6 months without extension. However, it appears that the trial was ongoing in the trial court even after the stipulated period. 

The bail was granted only after raising these issues.” Nilay Chakraborty, assistant public prosecutor of the circuit bench, said: “There was a Supreme Court order in this case and the testimony of most of the 73 witnesses has been accepted. Hence, the division bench granted bail.” 

Courtesy & source- Millennium Post

https://www.millenniumpost.in/bengal/main-accused-in-jalpaiguri-child-trafficking-case-gets-bail-after-7-yrs-564593