Hc Rejects Former Bhse Chiefs Bail Plea

The Orissa High court has rejected the bail plea of former president of the Bhubaneswar Stock Exchange (BhSE), T D Bhayana, who is behind the bars for his involvement in the murder of a stock broker of the bourse.

Rejecting the petition the court has observed that because of the sensitive nature of the case, investigations into which is now in progress, the bail should not be granted as the accused could tamper with the evidence and influence the investigation.

Bhayana was arrested on May 31, this year along with former treasurer Anjani Singh for criminal conspiracy and abetting the murder of stock broker Vinod Agrawal, who was shot dead by "supari" killers in broad daylight inside the bourse premises on March 30, 1995.

Agrawal was reportedly killed because of his business rivalry with the accused persons arising out of illegal trading of shares on the bourse.

Two supari killers belonging to Jharkhand area were hired to commit the crime. The investigation into the murder, which was in limbo for a long time, had picked up momentum after the arrest of one of the killers, Raju Giri, by a team of CID officials in Ranchi on February 25, 2002.

Bhayana had moved bail petition in the HC after his application was rejected in the sessions court. Meanwhile, another co-conspirator in the case, former vice-president of BhSE, Arun Giridhar, has moved a separate bail application in the HC.