Supreme Court grants bail to Bikru massacre case accused after High Court rejection

Dharamendra alias Heeru, an accused in the Bikru massacre case who was serving a 10-year sentence, has received a major reprieve from the Supreme Court. After the court granted him bail, he was released from Mati district jail on Friday. As soon as he stepped out of the prison, Dharamendra embraced his wife and expressed his gratitude to the judiciary.

Dharamendra alias Heeru had been serving a 10-year sentence under the Gangster Act in connection with the gangster case linked to Uttar Pradesh's notorious Bikru massacre. His bail application had earlier been rejected by the High Court. Following that rejection, he approached the Supreme Court, where he was granted relief. Speaking to the media after his release, Dharamendra said, "I had complete faith in the country's judiciary and today justice has prevailed." During this interaction, he heaped praise on his senior advocate Ashwani Tripathi and credited his legal advocacy as the main reason behind his release.

It is noteworthy that in 2020, eight policemen including a Circle Officer were killed in an ambush on a police team that had gone to raid Bikru village in Kanpur district. Following this brutal massacre, Dharamendra alias Heeru had surrendered wearing an advocate's attire at the Mati district court. In the entire case, police had gunned down six criminals including the main accused Vikas Dubey in encounters.

The Bikru case had sent shockwaves across Uttar Pradesh and the entire nation when the police party was attacked in the pre-dawn hours during a raid operation. The incident had led to a massive manhunt that culminated in the encounters of the accused. Dharamendra's release now marks a significant legal development in one of the cases stemming from that notorious incident. The report has been filed by Vivek Trivedi from Kanpur Dehat.