The Ahmedabad City and Sessions Court, on Tuesday, granted bail to suspended Deputy Superintendent of Police K G Erda on a bond of Rs 20,000.

Erda has been arrested by the Supreme Court appointed Special Investigation Team (SIT) in connection with the Gulbarg Society massacre case. He faces a host of charges, including abetment to murder, abetment to rioting, dereliction of duty and destruction of evidence.

These include: not collecting blood samples of the deceased, not calling the fire services at the riot spot, carrying out two panchnamas of a jewellery box recovered from the spot after the massacre, and not making preventive arrests in the area of his jurisdiction following a call for a bandh by the Vishwa Hindu Parishad on February 28, 2002.

Erda was the then police inspector at the Meghaninagar police station.

Erda’s counsel Mitesh Amin said, “The court has observed that Erda’s negligence cannot be connected with abetment of offences committed by other accused in the case. The court has also taken cognisance of our contention that he has got his statements recorded before the SIT nine times and cooperated with the investigation. Besides, being a senior government servant he will not abscond.” He added: “He has also deposed before the Nanavati-Shah Commission in connection with the massacre. So, he has cooperated with every government investigation into the massacre.”