Srinagar, Oct 9: The High Court of Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh has made anticipatory bail granted to two men accused of allegedly facilitating the kidnapping and illegal confinement of a minor girl absolute, observing that the prosecution had not pointed out any violation of their interim bail conditions.
Justice M. A. Chowdhary passed the order while allowing the bail application of Satpal Sharma, 59, and Balwant Raj, 44, in connection with an FIR registered at Police Station Ransoo in Reasi district under various provisions of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) and the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act.
According to the complaint, the mother of a 16-year-old girl reported her missing after she failed to return home from school on April 23, 2026. Three days later, Sharma allegedly informed the family that the girl had been seen at Bhambla market with Rohit Kumar, the main accused.
Police alleged that Rohit had kidnapped the girl after her family refused his marriage proposal. The investigating agency further accused Sharma and Balwant Raj of facilitating the offence by arranging hotel accommodation and assisting Rohit’s movements.
The prosecution relied on hotel registers, statements of hotel staff, a UPI transaction, call detail records and the victim’s identification of the applicants during a test identification parade. Police also alleged that Balwant Raj had asked hotel staff to remove his mobile number and personal details from their records.
Opposing the bail plea, the prosecution argued that the applicants had knowingly aided the main accused. The defence maintained that they had helped recover the girl and argued that merely arranging accommodation did not establish abetment.
The victim’s mother told the court that she had no objection to the applicants being granted bail.
Justice Chowdhary noted that the applicants had received interim bail on June 24 and no violation of its conditions had been established before the court.
The court made the interim bail absolute, directing the applicants to cooperate with the investigation, not leave Jammu and Kashmir without the concerned SHO’s permission and refrain from tampering with evidence. They must furnish personal and surety bonds of Rs 50,000 each.
The court clarified that its observations were confined to the bail application and did not determine the merits of the case.
