Additional Sessions Judge Bimal Kumar Chand on Wednesday released all 11 accused servitors on conditional bail. They were directed to furnish Rs30,000 and two securities each.
The court directed them to appear before the lions Gate police station investigating officer once every week, and not leave the jurisdiction of SDJM, Puri without prior permission of the court.
Besides they were directed not to intimidate the prosecution witnesses and commit similar offence while on bail. In the event of violation of these conditions, the bail would be cancelled, the court ordered.
The servitors were arrested by the lions Gate police following complaints of three scribes that they had attacked them and damaged their camera and threatened to kill while they were covering the Niladri Bije ritual of lord Jagannath on July 17.
Police registered a criminal case and within a couple of days arrested these servitors and forwarded them to the court on charges of attempt to murder and under other Sections of Indian Penal Code (IPC). The SDJM after refusing their bail plea had sent them to judicial custody.
The servitors arrested include Brundaban Pujapanda, Madhusudan Khuntia, Suryanarayan Pratihari, Raghunath Khuntia, Sankar Palankdhari, Suryanarayan Pujapanda, Rabinaryan Khuntia, Harihar Patri, Jaykrushna Mahapatra and Ramnarayan Khuntia. The accused servitors had approached the Sessions Court for bail. After deferring the bail thrice, the Judge on Wednesday granted them bail.