Dara Singh encounter: Suspended IPS officer Ponnuchami granted

The Rajasthan High Court today granted bail to suspended IPS officer A Ponnuchami in the Dara Singh encounter killing case.
Justice Banwari Lal Sharma granted bail to Ponnuchami, who was posted as IG of the Special Operations Group (SOG) of Rajasthan Police at the time of the encounter, considering the fact that only one of the 13 prosecution witnesses has been examined so far.
The charge sheet has been filed and he is unlikely to influence the witnesses, the court said, adding that other key accused in the case have already been granted bail.
The court gave him bail on a bail bond and surety of Rs 1 lakh and Rs 2 lakh, respectively. Ponnuchami, a 1991-batch IPS officer, was arrested in May, 2011.

A liquor smuggler of Jhunjhunu, Singh was killed by the SOG of Rajasthan Police in an encounter on the outskirts of Jaipur on October 23, 2006.
The case drew wide attention after BJP leader and Rajasthan Minister Rajendra Singh Rathore was named an accused in the case and was arrested by CBI, which was investigating the case. Rathore was later acquitted by a lower court.
Besides Ponnuchami, another IPS officer, A K Jain, and several other police officers were accused in the case.