Special court rejects interim bail of Hilal Ahmad Rather in misappropriation of loan case

A special CBI court in Jammu on Tuesday rejected the interim bail plea of Hilal Ahmad Rather in connection with a case pertaining to the misappropriation of an approximately Rs 177.68 crore loan.

Rather, a resident of Trikuta Nagar, is in a Jammu jail along with two others (both then officials of a J & K Bank) for getting a loan of Rs 177.68 crore sanctioned for construction of flats in violation of rules and guidelines and diverting and misappropriating the amount by using the bank accounts of his employees.

Hilal Ahmad Rather had filed a bail application in the court on health grounds.

During the hearing on the matter, the CBI opposed the bail and said that the accused has been discharged by a Chandigarh government hospital and is in a stable condition and there is nothing on record to suggest that he required to be hospitalised.

The probe agency said that a complete lockdown has been announced in the country to prevent the spread of coronavirus, and added that releasing the accused on bail on this ground will be against the spirit of lockdown and will put him as well as others citizens at risk.