In a major setback to the Mumbai Crime Branch, both the accused—arrested in an alleged murder case of a 22-year-old MBBS student at Bandra Bandstand a couple of years ago—were granted bail by the Bombay High Court on Wednesday. The prosecution has yet to produce evidence to prove that the woman had been murdered. A detailed HC order is yet to be released.

Both the accused, including the prime suspect Mithu Singh and his friend Abdul Jabbar Ansari, were arrested on January 13, 2023, by the Crime Branch Unit- 9 on the basis of circumstantial evidence. They had been lodged at the Arthur Road jail for over two years “but the prosecution is yet to produce any evidence against them”, Singh’s defence lawyer said.